Back from the Horde: Kiami Reborn のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 11 - チャプター 20

The moment the simulation dissolved, the Sanctuary felt too still—like the air itself was holding its breath. The glow that usually warmed the space now seemed colder, sharper. My heart hadn’t slowed from what I’d just seen; the screams and fire still echoed behind my eyelids.Ten days. I repeated the number silently until it etched itself into my mind. Ten days until the world fell apart again.I straightened my shoulders and called out to the System. “Show me what I need next.”A chime answered, clear and mechanical:[Combat Protocol Initiation: Trial One – Survive the Wave][Objective: Eliminate All Hostile Units Without Dying][Reward: Skill Awakening Chance + 30 Evolution Points]A thrill coursed through me. My first real test.The ground under my feet rippled, reforming into a wide, open field. Shadows pooled along the edges like ink spreading in water. I could sense them before I saw them—low growls, shuffling steps, the faint stench of decay.Echo’s voice drifted to my right,

The world reformed around me like a nightmare reborn.The glow of the Sanctuary faded into smog and shadow. The air was heavy—thick with smoke, rot, and something else I couldn’t name. My shoes scraped against cracked asphalt, and I realized I was standing in what used to be the downtown district of my city. Storefronts were shattered, their glass teeth glittering faintly in the pale moonlight.A faint drizzle pattered from the sky, turning ash to mud.[Simulation Initiated][Objective: Retrieve Medical Supplies, Food, and Fuel][Time Limit: 2 Hours][Penalty for Failure: Loss of Skill Progress]My heart gave a sharp jolt. Two hours. It wasn’t real, but the stakes felt real enough to make my palms sweat. The System wasn’t playing games—every success built me, and every mistake could set me back.I adjusted the strap of my pack and whispered to myself, “This isn’t a dream. This is rehearsal.”The faint hum of the System faded into the background, replaced by the low groans that drifted

Morning came gray and heavy.Rain streaked down my apartment windows, tapping like an impatient clock counting down my borrowed time.Ten days felt like a lifetime—until it didn’t.I sipped cold coffee, staring at the glowing System panel hovering over my desk.[New Mission: Assemble a Survival Network][Objective: Identify and recruit 3 potential allies within 48 hours.][Reward: System Upgrade – Team Interface Unlocked][Failure Penalty: -15 Evolution Points]Allies.That word still made my stomach twist.In my first life, I’d surrounded myself with allies too — people I trusted, protected, fed, saved. And when things got hard, when the hunger and fear set in, those same people turned on me.Some stole.Some ran.One left me behind to die.But the System didn’t care about my grudges. It demanded strategy.And I’d learned that power didn’t just mean strength — it meant knowing who to keep and who to cut loose.⸻I started with Kira Daniels.We’d gone to high school together. She’d be

The warehouse smelled like metal and fear.Even after we’d scrubbed the floor clean, the scent of blood clung to everything — soaked into the cracks, hidden in the corners, impossible to erase. Every time I breathed, I could taste it on my tongue.Kira had stopped cracking jokes.Mara was quieter, her usual charm replaced with tight-lipped tension.And Noah… Noah hadn’t slept at all. He sat near the generator, polishing his medical instruments with trembling hands, eyes hollow behind his glasses.It had only been one day since we killed the first infected.But one day was enough to change everything.⸻[System Notification][Safe Zone Established: Warehouse Compound – Tier 1][Warning: Structural Integrity 74%. Infected Presence Detected within 100 meters.]I froze. “Echo,” I whispered, scanning the glowing text hovering in my vision. “Did I read that right? There are more nearby?”Her voice emerged from the air, soft and ancient. “Where there is blood, there are hunters. The scent ca

The spirals weren’t just marks — they were directions.That’s what I realized that night, lying awake while Kira snored in one corner, Mara sharpened knives in another, and Noah stared silently at his first aid kit.The patterns weren’t random. They traced paths, leading from infected to infected, forming a network beneath the city — an invisible web only the marked could sense.I closed my eyes and felt it — pulsing under the streets like a heartbeat, deep, ancient, and impossible to ignore.[System Alert: Unidentified Energy Source Detected — Subterranean.][Recommendation: Investigate Immediately.]I couldn’t ignore it.I had survived this long because I acted, not hesitated.⸻The entrance was hidden beneath the cracked floor of an abandoned subway station. Rusted gates hung crookedly, graffiti peeling away in the damp air. The smell hit me immediately: mildew, earth, and something older — something rotted yet alive.Kira glanced at me, eyes narrowing. “You sure about this? Last t