[Oh, it turns out you forgot to visualize when and where you wanted to be.]

“Forgot? I didn’t even know I had to do that!” What kind of broken system was this?! Telling her things right after they were needed. 

His next words came in a whisper, [Sorry]

Breathing deeply, she waved it off and tried to think about the food she’d eat later to de-stress. Yes, she could find ramen--Remembering the feeling of choking on ramen as her life slipped away, she changed her mind.-- Perhaps, something sweet to balance out the bitterness of life? An au chocolat paired with a cup of matcha tea. That’s right, just hold that calming image in mind. She breathed out, pulse calming at the mental image.

Looking around closely, she realized the streets she’d been walking around were all empty. It wasn’t just that, the streets looked like no one had been living in them for more than 5 months. When she retraced her steps she realized the mother and child pair she saw were long gone and she hadn’t seen hide nor hair of any other people on the streets.

All these points made goosebumps erupt on her flesh. Thinking back to it, neither Yang nor Yin mentioned something very important. “Is the date and time of our arrival in the world set before or after our target dies?” Speaking her words out loud calmed her a bit, but that ominous feeling wasn’t lessening at all.

[The door merely locks onto an area with the place and time you want to go to. In your case, since you didn’t think of anything but your mission it sent you to when your mission became valid which is after your target escaped Jigoku and dropped you in a random location nearby.]

‘Don’t tell me,’Yui saw the newsstand at the end of the street and broke into a run to it even as she clumsily tripped over her own feet. 

[Don’t run! Walk slowly, you’re still getting used to your body.]

Yui didn’t reply, staring at the headlines.

REAL LIFE ZOMBIES

END TIMES

IS IT THE APOCALYPSE

‘Yang, were there supposed to be zombies?’

[Of course not, it’s your first-] Yang went silent. [Host, it seems the world wasn’t categorized properly.]

You weren’t categorized properly! Your whole family wasn’t categorized properly!

[Calm down, host. Look at the bright side, your first job will be challenging!]

Who wants their first job to be challenging?! I was looking forward to getting food and holing myself up somewhere to calm down. ‘Right, okay, I need to face this logically. I need a plan.’ Thinking of the food she’d eat in the future and holding that picture in her mind calmed her down and she breathed slowly, in and out. ‘Okay, so first, since we’re already here and there’s no zombies so far, let’s find someplace safe to figure out what I can do and read the magazines.’ The headlines of all the magazines were basically about the zombie virus. Grabbing one of each magazine she could see, she began to slowly walk, trying to avoid tripping.’Where’s the closest empty condo or house?’

[It’s four blocks down if you go straight, but host, weren’t we going to hurry and finish the job?]

‘Do I look like the type that can survive a zombie attack?’ Five magazines at the top of the pile she was carrying fell off and she lost her balance, toppling over onto the street. Hurriedly, she picked everything up while all the zombie movies she’d watched while alive ran through her head. Walking more carefully, she halved the pile between her arms and tried to get used to her new height all the while feeling like she was going through puberty all over again except, you know, with a zombie horde right behind her. 

[Well no, but looks don’t mean anything. Besides, you’re my host and that should make a difference.]

Wobbling from side to side, one magazine fell off and she sighed, bending down slowly. ‘It won’t if I don’t know anything. Damn, Mochizuki-san was right, I should’ve stayed to hear everything and if not, at least gotten used to my new height.’

[Host was fated to be my host so I’m sure you would survive regardless.]

‘Thank you for the vote of confidence, but I’d rather come out of such a fight with just a scratch on me than fight and survive by a hair's breadth.’

As she finished that thought, Yui found herself in front of the condo Yang gave her directions to. She quickly made her way in, trying hard to ignore the gore splattered in seemingly random spots. ‘You’re sure this place is empty?’ 

[Of course! I’m your system, not someone out to kill you.]

Putting trust in Yang’s words, she made her way deeper in. Walking to the apartment in the middle of the second floor, she turned the knob, not expecting it to fully open. The door creaked open even as she was surprised at her luck. Closing the door and locking it behind her, she quickly dragged a table over to further barricade the door before making her way to the kitchen.

She opened the refrigerator and while there was no au chocolat to speak of, quickly made do with a pack of chocolate that survived and some matcha tea. Setting it all down on the dining table, she dragged a chair out and practically collapsed on it. She quietly relished five pieces before sitting back bonelessly with a delighted sigh.’Alright, can you give me a quick rundown about what I can do right now?’

[Take a look in front of you.] A status page appeared in front of Yui.

 

---

 

NAME: Zaizen Yui

LVL 1

RACE: Oni

 

STATS

Body - 100

Mind - 100

Soul - 100

 

UNALLOCATED STAT POINTS: 0

 

SKILLS

[System Space] - PASSIVE/ACTIVE - +S Rank

HELL MONEY: Ħ0 

---

 

‘What does each stat mean?’

Impatience loud and clear even without a body, he answered reluctantly. [Body obviously affects your physical stats. Things like strength, constitution, dexterity, anything to do with your body and that’s the stat to look at.]

‘I thought I didn’t have a body? Isn’t my current body just my soul manifested?’

[It is, but if you want to create a physical body or possess one this stat would help you. After all, if you’d deign to take on a physical body it better match up to your soul, especially with the kinds of escapees you might have to catch in the future.]

Trying to ignore the implications of that last sentence, Yui quickly turned her thoughts to the next stat,’Is the Mind stat something to do with intelligence then?’

[Intelligence is only a bit of what the Mind stat represents. It also has something to do with wisdom and magic points.]

Having become desensitized to finding out myths and fantastical things were real all along, Yui just nodded as she accepted the existence of MP in real life. When she saw the last stat which was soul, she nearly screamed at the possibilities because wasn’t that 100? Did that mean right now, stuck in an apocalyptic murderverse, she was stuck with 100 HP?!

[Calm down! That’s not it at all. The Soul stat pertains to intangible things like luck, soul strength and a host of other things to do with your current ‘body’.]

‘Oh! Okay, that’s good.’ Her body relaxed from the coiled up state it had been in,’Speaking of which, I’ve seen LitRPG with more stats than this and why don’t I even have any HP or MP bars?’

[Honestly, the upper management weren’t sure who would be picked as hosts by Yin and I, so they adjusted the system just in case we picked someone born before videogames were invented.]

‘Hm, you think they would update the system to add HP and MP bars if I sent a complaint?’

[They might, but I doubt it. Yin and I were the first Jigoku System ever created and to this day I heard our creation was considered a deathly trial. Everyone would probably be too scared to change one thing and cause Yin and I to glitch.]

First? Wait a moment, does this mean that Yin and Yang were the first iteration so they might have bugs and glitches hidden all over? Horrified at what that could mean since Yang was basically glued to her soul, she tried to ignore the possibilities.

[Did you just insinuate I was glitchy? Are you trying to start something?!] The offended system shouted suddenly, nearly sending Yui ass over teakettle at the sudden shout.

‘Ah, sorry, sorry! It wasn’t my intention. Besides, it was just a thought.’ Yui wanted to hit herself as she forgot Yang could hear her thoughts.

[It better be just a thought. The Jigoku Bureaucracy spent a hundred millennia creating us and you’re the one fate gave this great treasure to.]

‘Yes, that’s right. I was lucky.’ Yui recalled arriving at the trial in front of the first of the judges of Jigoku and being given a choice to become employed. She only hoped what they promised in exchange would be given. 

[Stop daydreaming! If you’re already satisfied with what I’ve taught so far, let’s head over to get that soul already!]

‘Wait, stop! I still have questions.’

[Alright, but hurry up, the dead don’t wait. In fact, the dead we’re after are actively running.]

‘Actively running?’  She stopped herself before she received Yang’s answer by motioning for him to not answer that, deciding she needed her questions answered first,’ What are the average stats for humans, ghosts and zombies?’

[Humans are generally around 50 with ghosts being the same, but there are exceptions to the rule. Those extraordinary exceptions normally have stats at 100 being that they are the best of humanity and they carry those stats when they become ghosts. Zombies-]

That pause made a chill drive into her bones,‘Yang, why did you pause?’

[Host, no matter what happens, you don’t have to worry. You have me and can always escape back to the system space.]

‘Yang, what the hell did you just find out?’

[Well, it seems this world isn’t your typical zombie apocalypse world after all. According to the info I have, zombies aren’t the only undead that exist in this world and well, each kind of undead have levels.]

Feeling her death inching closer to her, Yui felt like she needed more chocolate than she found. In fact, she felt like billing the whole of Jigoku for this stupid deal. Yui, it’s a good deal, they said. They have free housing, they said. You’ll start off easy, they said. Well, look at me now! 

[It’s alright, host! It’s still the start of the apocalypse, remember? The highest levels don’t even exist yet.]

Right, yeah, it’s still the start. Turning to the pack of chocolates, she upended everything and ate all ten left before giving a gusty sigh. ‘What are the levels and the corresponding stats to them?’

[The levels are by color. Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. Red being the first level and violet the last. The average undead’s stats are generally 100 and as they go up in level their stats gain an additional 100. Oh! Hey host, it seems I was right.]

‘About what?’

[It turns out you don’t have what the zombies feed on, so you’re safe as long as you don’t get between them and their food.]

"Hey, did you just call me brainless?!" She shouted in outrage. 

[No host! I meant that the zombies only go after anything with the cores they need to progress to the next level, so you don’t have to worry.]

'Sorry for shouting,' Perking up at the best news she’d heard all day, she drooped as she realized something else,’You mean the other undead would still go after me?’

[Unfortunately, but cheer up, host! This means at least one type isn’t after you and you can go out without fear to grab the soul since only zombies are prolific right now.]

Yui wished she was as optimistic as her system, but shook her head and continued, ‘Ok, how about my skills? Why do I only have one and why is it +S?’

[It’s because you technically were reincarnated when you became my host and as this is a new life you need to practice all your skills again before they can be registered as your skills. The grades are from -E to +S with -E meaning you’re as proficient as a regular human would be at it and +S meaning you have a godly gift in that skill. Now that that’s explained, are you ready to head out?]

‘Hold your horses, let me read these magazines first.’

[Why would you need to? I could give you a quick rundown of everything while on the way.]

Considering outside there’d be undead--Yui refused to even ask what the different kinds were-- and who knows what else, pictures of her being eaten or worse off because she agreed to what Yang said sprang up in her mind. She grimaced, ‘Yang, for my sake, no- For the sake of this mission, give me a chance to plan before we run head first into danger.’

There seemed to be considering air about him before he reluctantly spoke up, [Alright]

Staring at the stack of magazines, she collected them all and went to find a more comfy place to read and considering she was in the Apocalypse, maybe some clothes. ‘Yang, do I need to bathe or even wear clothes?’

[Host, you’re literally a soul manifested by soul strength, you don’t need to eat, bathe or sleep.]

‘Damn, they took away the greatest joy of life, and I can’t even say I need breaks to sneak out and eat anymore.’ Yui considered Mochizuki-san’s talk of efficiency earlier and how she couldn’t even use the excuse she needed to bathe to take a break. It was at this moment she realized she’d been hoodwinked to become a sleepless corporate slave and nearly burst into tears. Damn, management better fulfill the bargain or she swore she’d start boycotting work if they didn’t. 

She realized Yang could probably hear her and hurried to turn her thoughts to other things like the apartment she was currently in. The place had two rooms, a living room and a sectioned portion for a kitchen. The first room seemed to be a couple’s room with how one side seemed to have male items and the other female. Silently, she made her way in, checking under the bed, before she saw an opened closet with a packed bag and a phone beside it. ‘If I take their phone, do you think their souls would go after me?’ 

[Why don’t you just ask them?]