High School Girl Warrior

Chapter 109 – Hero

(Inugami Renji’s PoV)

As I made my way through the dark underground path, I was incredibly thankful to the helmet’s night-vision.

In this place that isn’t illuminated by even a single ray of sunshine, this feature is incredibly useful.

With this, I was able to completely maneuver around the zombies who couldn’t see in the dark.

So, I carefully walked around the darkness and slowly headed towards the subway tunnel.

[… Hey, hey, why don’t you try fighting now?] Mitsune impatiently complained.

“Shh… Shut up. What if they hear you?” I whispered.

[It’s alright. You’re the only one who can hear me.] She replied.

Well, that’s good to know at least.

“Look, I don’t know about you, but I don’t like killing zombies, okay?” I muttered.

[Really? You did a great job when you came to my help though?] She said.

“It was a desperate move, alright?” I whispered.

Then, I let out a small sigh.

“Let me ask you something just in case… You’re not some kind of sad auditory hallucination that my lonely soul created, are you?” I muttered.

[There’s no way that that’s the case.] She replied.

“Well, I suppose your reply here would actually be irrelevant if you really were a hallucination…” I muttered.

[Ah, I guess I should try explaining things to you properly, but right now I’m trying to get us out of this situation-

[Look out! In front of you!] She exclaimed.

It happened just as I was momentarily distracted.

One of the things that I thought was a corpse, got up, groaned, and jumped at me.

“Damn it!” I exclaimed.

It was the same kind of feeling that one would be overcome by right before being hit by a car.

The feeling of seeing an unavoidable tragedy approach your right before your eyes.

I reflexively closed my eyes to avoid seeing it.

… But I felt no pain in my arm.

I frowned, then slowly opened up my eyes.

What I saw was the head of the zombie being pierced by the Hero’s Sword.

[You did it, Shikanda!] Ms. Mitsune exclaimed.

I pulled out the sword from the zombie’s corpse and asked, “Shikanda?”

[Hero’s Sword is too much of a long name, so I gave it a nickname.

[By the way, Shikanda fights automatically. You can thank it if you want.] Ms. Mitsune replied.

“Oh…” I muttered.

I stared at the sword’s hilt in amazement for a second before continuing, “That’s really amazing… So that’s the power of magic.”

[That it is.] Ms. Mitsune said.

“So magic really does exist…” I commented.

[What are you talking about? You saw me use magic, didn’t you?] She replied.

“I mean, yeah, but…” It just feels different to see magic and actually feel it in action.

[By the way, you seem to have leveled up.] Ms. Mitsune told me.

“Level…? Just how game-like is this?” I asked.

[Well, let me display your improved stats for now.] After Ms. Mitsune said that, my stats were displayed in the monitor in front of me.

——————-

Stats

Level: 2 (+1)

HP: 38 (+2)

MP: 13

Attack: 30 (+1)

Defense: 29 (+1)

Magic: 6 (+2)

Agility: 21 (+2)

Luck: 6

——————-

[For the record, an Attack value of 20 would be roughly the same as what a Warrior with Attack Power I would have.

[… Wait, I don’t think you’ll actually understand what this means.] Ms. Mitsune told me.

“I mean, it’s just hard to understand a numerical parameter without anything to compare it to…” I replied.

[Ah, yeah, I guess that can’t be helped.] Ms. Mitsune replied, thought for a bit, then said, [Well, there is a zombie dressed like an office worker in your line of sight. Let me try showing you its stats.]

“Alright…?” I said.

Then, without waiting for me to formulate a proper response, Ms. Mitsune displayed the information on the monitor.

——————-

Basic Info:

Name: Zombie A

Job: None

Weapon: None

Head: None

Body: Tattered suit

Arms: None

Feet: Worn leather shoes

Ornament: Stylish necktie

——-

Stats

Level: 1

HP: 9

MP: 1

Attack: 12

Defense: 3

Magic: 1

Agility: 2

Luck: 0

——————-

“Oh…” I muttered.

It was easy to understand now… There was a pretty massive difference between my combat power and the zombie’s.

[See? You won’t lose even if you try fighting a bit.] Ms. Mitsune told me.

“However, they still have a sure-death bite.

“I don’t know how tough this armor is, but I’ll still die no matter what if I get infected by the zombie disease, won’t I?” I asked just to be sure.

[Well, yeah, but…] She replied.

“Then, let’s proceed with caution.” I concluded.

[Seriously…] Ms. Mitsune sighed.

Not minding her, I continued with my strategy.

***

The underground movement went smoothly.

I walked to the subway tracks and eliminated only the zombies blocking my path while moving forward.

The more I progressed, the more I realized that the mysterious items that Ms. Mitsune gave me were absolutely outrageous.

Shikanda in particular was incredibly strong.

Because of it, I didn’t need to think about anything too difficult. I just needed to grasp the hilt of the sword and the zombies were all killed without me doing anything.

Incidentally, I got another level as I moved.

——————-

Stats

Level: 3 (+1)

HP: 39 (+1)

MP: 14 (+1)

Attack: 31 (+1)

Defense: 30 (+1)

Magic: 7 (+1)

Agility: 21

Luck: 6

——————-

I haven’t felt much difference from those level ups, but I think it might be possible for me to defeat a zombie with a single fingertip in the future.

“Well, it’s just like you said. I really don’t feel like zombies pose much of a threat to me right now.” I commented.

[Right? That’s just how those things work.] She replied.

So, I walked like that for about an hour.

After that, I seemed to finally start calming down… Which was when I realized that I was hungry.

“Shall we take a break to eat?” I asked, though I don’t know if she can taste the things I eat.

In any case, I sat down on a random spot, opened my backpack and took out-

[Hold on a second!] Mitsune exclaimed.

“What happened?” I asked.

I don’t see any zombies nearby…

[There’s expired food in your backpack.] She told me.

“Oh, that? It’s fine, I’m used to it already.” I replied.

[Goodness… Won’t that give you a stomachache?] She asked.

“It’s better than starving.” I shrugged.

… Oh, wait, hold on, there is a bit of a problem here, “Do I need to take off the helmet to eat?” I asked.

The surrounding area was quite dark, so I felt nervous about taking the night-vision helmet off, even if for just a moment.

[Ah, right… Give me a second.] As Ms. Mitsune said that, the mask-like mouth part of the helmet opened up.

“Oh? That’s quite convenient.” I commented.

[The mask also protects you against germs and pathogens, so please close it as soon as you finish eating.] Ms. Mitsune told me.

“Thank you for the warning.” I replied.

Then, I took out my favorite cheese-flavored snack and started eating.

And now that I could finally take a break and rest, I decided to ask her the fundamental question that has been bothering me for a while now, “So… What is this helmet anyways?”

[Oh? Are you the type that cares about this kind of thing?] She asked back.

“I do.” I nodded.

[I know that famous cartoon character that can take things out of a pocket dimension. It gave this to me.] She replied.

“Oh, so that’s how it is?” I said with a completely convinced tone.

[… Eh? Did you actually believe what I just said?] She asked me.

“Was it a lie?” I asked back.

[Yeah, it was a joke.] She replied.

I sighed, “I just have no idea what is going on right now, alright? I’m in the kind of situation where I just have to believe in whatever you say, you know?”

She laughed, [Sorry, sorry.]

Her cute apology didn’t make things any clearer though…

[To tell you the truth, I don’t quite get it myself. There are a lot of things that just happened on their own.] She told me.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

[If I had to try finding an explanation for it… I guess I could say that the helmet was a gift from a god?] She said.

“A gift from a god…” I repeated her words.

Honestly, the cartoon character explanation was easier to take in than that.

[It seems like I’m some kind of ‘hero’ that was sent here to save this world, and the helmet is a special item that is given only to ‘heroes.’

[The helmet is connected to the ‘Immortality’ skill, which can anchor the hero’s spirit to someone… Or something along those lines.

[So, with it, even an ordinary person can obtain the same kind of power that a player would have… Sorta. That’s the kind of item that you’re using now.] Ms. Mitsune explained.

“… I see.” I muttered.

I understood that there were a lot of things about this that I still don’t understand.

But well, enough about this helmet. I was originally fine with just thinking of it as a magical item anyways.

There’s something more important than that to talk about.

“So… What’s your goal?” I asked her.

[I’m not entirely sure, but I was told that I need to defeat a Demon Lord to get rid of the bad guys. That’s what I need to do to restore the peace of the world.] She replied.

“Huh…?” I muttered.

[But as you know, in the end, I wasn’t strong enough, and the hero has been defeated by the forces of evil!] She said next.

“Well, that’s a problem, isn’t it?” I commented.

[However! The world hasn’t been shrouded in darkness just yet! For the hero has the special super invincible power of immortality!] She exclaimed.

“Uhuh…” I nodded.

[But there are limits to this power… In order to come back to life properly, I need to accumulate a lot of good karma from the scratch… As in, I need to help a lot of people out.] She told me.

“Ah, I see…” I commented.

So, if I combine all the knowledge I got from reading manga, reading novels, playing games, watching anime, and all the stuff that she told me just now…

“So, essentially, this helmet is a temporary vessel for your spirit until you can regain your proper body?” I asked.

[That’s basically it.] She replied.

“And in order to let you regain your body… We need to do a lot of good things, right?” I asked next.

[That’s correct.] She said.

“And unless you regain your body, the demon lord will continue wrecking havoc on this world… Right?” I asked.

[That’s right!] She exclaimed.

Mmmm… While sitting cross-legged, I crossed my arms and started thinking.

[So… I have a bit of a favor that I want to ask of you…] Ms. Mitsune started saying.

For the first time since we started talking, her tone was a bit hesitant.

I took the initiative and responded, “You want my help with the karma thing, right?”

[Yeah, well…] She started saying.

“Sure. That’s alright.” I replied.

[It’s gonna be quite difficult, but I think that… Wait, what?] She seemed to have taken a bit to process what I just said.

“Basically, you want me to use these invincible sword and armor to go around and help people, right?” I asked.

[Well, that’s basically it, but… You okay with that?] She asked back.

“What? Are you dissatisfied with me?” I asked next.

[Oh no, not at all, it’s just… Well, you’ll be putting yourself in quite a bit of danger.] She seemed to be worrying about me.

It was a bit bothersome that she was looking down on me and didn’t realize that I could understand at least this much.

“I’m fully aware of the risks. I might end up having a sudden and horrible death just like you had.” I told her.

[And even then…?] She started saying.

“Don’t you know? Boys are creatures that always yearn to be on the side of justice.” I told her.

Then, I decided that I had had enough rest, so I stood up and said, “Let’s go.”

Perhaps this might be my chance to be a proper hero… Or so I hope.

And well, I also learned something today… It seems like I’m actually a good person.