Chapter 3- Sali Frostbloom
"I can't believe it! I got reincarnated…" Edward murmured as he turned around and rested his back on the wall with disbelief clear in his eyes.
After that, a small smile crept into his face.
"Hahahah…" Chuckling quietly, he found himself completely immersed in his own thoughts. A dream he thought was simply fiction had suddenly realized itself without him doing anything to achieve it. It sounded like a funny joke, too funny to be true, actually. His whole life was trash, he didn't have goals or dreams. Simply passing his days doing the same thing again and again and again like a monotonous machine, programmed to follow simple desires that could not affect his present or future.
That life was in a sense soul-draining. Edward felt it clearly, his days being consumed into oblivion. He wasn't the only one feeling that way either. Most people do the same thing. They follow the set of rules that society put on them and worry whether they could really be up to that standard or not.
Yet, somehow, what was the bane of the existence of countless humans was simply solved for Edward in a moment. It was almost comical to think one's life could change this quickly without much noise or crazy events.
"Hahahahah!!!" The small chuckles turned into loud laughter.
Edward didn't know if he was simply happy or in disbelief or a mix of both. But, he let himself get consumed by that urge to just laugh as much as he could. After a few minutes, he finally calmed down.
"This is amazing! Who thought my shitty life would end like that? Not me, certainly. But, who cares?! I finally got another chance. Hahahaha! That deity guy, wherever you are, thank you for this! I will definitely use this opportunity to the fullest."
After that, Edward stood up and looked around.
"Now, where is my harem?" He asked.
"Oh, maybe I will meet the first girl when I leave this place. No, no, that sounds boring. Since I'm in an apocalyptic setting, the first girl will be someone I will save from Zombies and then she will fall in love with me, and then…" In the end, Edward's mind imagined some things that would make the devil give him a tap on the back.
*Tap* *Tap* *Tap*
Suddenly, the sound of footsteps reached Edward from the outside. Immediately, all of his intrusive thoughts vanished as he apprehensively stopped making noises.
'Is it another Zombie? Dammit!' He cursed in his head as he tried to hide as much as he could.
"Asher? Where are you?"
However, much to his surprise, a human voice spoke from the outside.
'Huh? Is it, not a Zombie?' Standing up, Edward made his way to the door and peeked outside with as much wariness as he could muster. Fortunately, the person outside looked like a normal hum-
'Holy fuck! A smoking hot mature woman!' His eyes almost popped out of their sockets at the mere sight of the woman.
Edward was accustomed to seeing 2D girls most of the time so he generally didn't bother with real-life women. However, the one in front of him was extremely attractive at first look.
Her long and luscious black hair was tied into a messy bun. Her face although slightly dirty, still looked very captivating. Especially her eyes were a shade of brown that made them sparkle slightly and gave them a hint of natural seductiveness. Her beautiful, plump lips were sucking on a cigarette casually.
Her curvy body was clad in a simple sleeveless shirt and jeans that accentuated her thighs and hips. Resting on her back was what seemed to be a giant sword akin to that of a certain black swordsman. However, her most distinct feature was by far the big tattoo that covered her left arm from the shoulder down to the wrist.
It was certainly a big tattoo no matter how Edward looked at it. But, it only made her look even more charming as it gave her a hint of wildness.
"Hm? There you are! Where did you go, Asher?" The woman noticed Edward's presence almost instantly.
'Huh? Asher? She's talking to me?' Edward raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"Uh, excuse me, have we met each other before?"
'Wait, what kind of fucking question am I even asking? We obviously never met. I don't know this woman.'
"What nonsense are you spouting, kid? I was out to get some food and hunt an animal. Where did you go?"
'So the owner of this body knows her. Still, how am I supposed to explain that I don't know this woman? Although, why do I have a hunch that I have seen her before somewhere? I can't remember.'
It wasn't the woman's features that made him feel this way but the tattoo on her left arm. He had definitely seen it before somewhere.
'A tattoo of cryptic runes and an eye that is tearing up dark blood. Where have I seen that before?'
"Oi, Asher! Wake the fuck up! What are you daydreaming about? Did you hit your head or somet-"
The woman asked as she looked inside the classroom casually. But, that mere look made her freeze. A dead zombie was laying there, on the ground, swimming in a pool of blood with a shard of glass stuck in its eye.
Then, she turned toward Edward with a horrified expression on her face.
"Were you attacked by a Zombie?! Are you ok?! Did it bite you?! Show me the bite! Hurry!"
Approaching him, she started checking his body frantically with panic clear in her eyes. Meanwhile, Edward was simply watching the woman as she touched his body all over. Her seductive figure and plentiful breasts that kept glossing over him from time to time were a great experience.
'This is amazing! I mean, ahem, I can't just let her touch me all over! I must stop her now!... Ok, maybe 10 more seconds. Wait, no!'
"Ehem, I'm fine. It didn't bite me and I was able to kill it myself." Edward replied.
"... You killed it?" Looking up from her crouching position, the woman asked. Her face was eerily close to an area he didn't quite like. The whole point of view was simply wrong.
"Y-Yeah… Uh, can you please stand up? This position is kinda…"
"Good job, Asher! Although it's dangerous, you still did great to face that Zombie. I knew you can do it. Your big sister is proud of you." Standing up, the woman smiled happily as she patted Edward on the head.
"As I said, Who the hell is this Asher you keep ta-... Big sister?"
'Did she just say 'Big Sister'?! Fuck, did I just lust over this guy's big sister?! Ugh, bleh!' Edward felt a shiver run down his spine.
'But, dammit! Why did she have to be my sister?! I thought I finally met my first future girlfriend! Wait, there is still a chance. What if she's actually not related to me by blood? I mean, if there is a will, there is a way, no?'
"Ehem! Actually, I have to ask you something. It's really really important and could determine the future of this world." Coughing a few times, Edward said with a serious tone.
"What?"
"Are we related by blood?"
"Huh? Yeah. Of course, we are."
'Goddammit!!!' Screaming in his head, Edward sighed and then went back to the main topic.
"Actually, uh… Miss, I really don't know who you are. I don't even remember my name."
"You can't remember?!" She asked with a frown.
"Yeah, I just woke up and I can't remember a thing. Where are we even?" He asked as he looked around.
Although the building was old, Edward could see traces of modern technology here and there that made him think that they weren't in the past.
"How can this be… You don't recognize me?"
"No."
Suddenly, the woman fell down to the ground as she grabbed her face.
"What is this bad luck?! You must've hit your head during sleep. Uh, can this kind of memory loss even be healed? We must find a doctor quickly. Before that, I must first check if the healing potions we have can treat it or not." Picking herself up, the woman extended her hand to grab Edward.
"Wait! Explain the situation first! I don't even know your name."
"Uh, right! Sorry! I'm Sali Frostbloom and you are Asher Frostbloom. We are both siblings."
"Frostbloom?"
Hearing a familiar name, Edward frowned.
'I know that name… Wait, an apocalyptic world, Zombies, Frostbloom… Don't tell me.'
"Can you tell me which place are we in?"
"Oh, we are roaming the Forsaken Land."
'I knew it!'
Edward immediately remembered everything and somehow, it all clicked together. A long time ago, he read a book on the internet that was quite popular. Its name was 'Zombie Highschool'. Although the name would mislead many into thinking it was a generic story, Edward was delightfully surprised to see that it wasn't like that at all.
It had a great plot, great characters, and even a good harem. Which was rare but the novel somehow pulled it off.
'To think I would be transported to this particular novel… Well, that makes things better. I still remember some bits and pieces of the story.'
"Hey, are you feeling ok?" Sali asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine."
'Even though it's a fantasy world. I can't let my guard down. Even a small Zombie almost killed me. I think with my knowledge of this place, I should be able to survive… Or so I would think. But, hahaha! Only a fool would think that way. I'm way smarter than that! This isn't fiction, it's reality. I must not get full of myself.'