Looking at the rewards on the system panel, Eishi felt being a scumbag was worth it. The BUFFs alone have a huge value, not to mention the two items he received.
“...Eishi-kun.”
From the bed came Mahiru’s soft whisper. The pain on her lower waist woke her up. The events of st night fshed vividly inside her mind, making her blush. If it wasn’t for Eishi’s one-stop cleaning service through his spatial backpack, the room would have been filled with their sexual fluids. That was how insane st night’s battle was.
“Eat these fruits first. You’ll be able to stand up after that.”
“Ah? Really?”
“I won’t lie to you.”
Thinking of his btant decration st night, she was convinced. Nobody can decre themselves as a scumbag—affection and fickleness mixed with sincerity.
‘I truly…’
*****
Airi was the first one to wake up. She went down and cooked everyone's breakfast. Her college student sister was staying out of the house, which left her alone most of the time. Only in holidays and paid leaves would her step-father remain with her.
Eishi knew her cooking skill and assigned her to make breakfast. It wasn’t a complex one—miso soup, fried salmon, a bowl of rice, and optional sides like natto and soy sauce.
Haruno was the second one to come down. She sat on one of the dining chairs while drinking a gss of water. Her slumped head looked up to the busy Airi.
Haruno was curious. She was out after twenty minutes. She could not fathom how Airi could st hours of that torment.
Had the other rooms not been soundproofed to the maximum, she would have called Mahiru a monster…
“How did you st for so long?”
“Hm? Eishi will give them to you ter.”
“Ah?”
Not expecting that answer, she remained stumped.
Her ‘first time’ was given under ‘desperate’ circumstances. Yet, when she got to actually try it, her remaining aversion disappeared. Eishi’s perfectly sculpted body popped up every now and then, not to mention his rather ‘good’ personality compared to other rich men she knew.
In short, Haruno lucked out with a ‘perfect man’.
Soon, Eishi and Mahiru came downstairs. Haruno saw through their closeness and understood everything in an instant.
‘He didn’t let her escape…’
Eishi’s mention of Mahiru yesterday cemented her status on Haruno. Despite Airi being the ‘first’ girl, Mahiru has a special spot in his heart. She eyed the ‘pitiful’ girl, not knowing she had long turned into a bonafide love brain.
The dining table was unusually silent. An air of awkwardness lingered around the four of them.
It wasn’t until Eishi voiced out that it broke down.
“The situation outside isn’t promising. I checked the cameras installed within a kilometer of this vil. Zombies are practically everywhere.”
The camera instaltion was a bit tricky, but with enough money and status, it could be bypassed. This gave Eishi an edge on what’s happening to the surroundings. Amidst the light snow, zombies lingered everywhere. The sounds of chaos from yesterday died down, with only a few distant explosions remaining.
“Continuing on what I left on yesterday, superpowers exist.”
He took out a piece of a golden grape.
“Eating two of these will awaken your superpower and make your body stronger.”
With a wave of his hand, three gss bowls appeared. They were all filled with the [Physical Evolution Fruit] in the form of green strawberries. One bowl has two golden grapes mixed in.
“Your task for today is to eat these fruits, awaken your superpowers, and become stronger. Once the time is ripe, I will bring you outside to kill zombies.”
None of the three showed any hint of aversion. They clearly recalled their hectic escape yesterday, more so Haruno. Being able to run outside the five-storey office building and take her car meant she ‘fought’ off some zombies.
No matter what, they are clear on their circumstances. They could never remain as deadweights to Eishi.
“What about you?” Mahiru asked.
“I’ll go outside tomorrow.”
Eishi thought of the additional 200,000 cubic meters of space he received. There are still warehouses in Yokohama that didn’t belong to him. He could make rounds in some of them along the way.
“I will come with you.”
She pced the steel chopsticks on top of the rice bowl and said affirmatively.
“...Alright.”
Eishi made a quick judgement. Out of the three, Mahiru has the best mental state. The Gene Correction Serum was first used on her, earning a return rate of 7,895 times. Add to that the two golden grapes, her status became the highest out of the three girls.
[Mahiru Shiina]
Innate Talent: Healing Grace (SS, First-order)
Non-exclusive Talent: None
Life Level: First-order, One-star
Strength: 14 > 72
Agility: 15 > 71
Constitution: 14 > 71
Spirit: 12 > 117
‘Seven times...’
He kept these numbers in mind as they dispersed from the dining table. Airi washed the dishes, Haruno went to the bathroom to wash herself after two golden grapes, and Mahiru accompanied Eishi to the front yard.
“Is your 10.8 seconds record still the highest?”
“Yes.”
“Try beating it again.”
Her confusion disappeared after the next three runs. She averaged out on 3.5 seconds in a hundred meter track. Surprise could not be concealed in her eyes.
“Is this me?”
“Certainly.”
Eishi threw the stopwatch to her. Mahiru gnced at the 2 seconds, feeling surreal.
“I made a threshold for superpower users, which I dubbed as ‘Awakeners’.”
The status panel is only visible to him. Eishi had to expin Mahiru’s current level by himself.
Ten is the level of an average human.
Twenty is the level of a professional athlete.
Thirty is the level of world-css pinnacle athletes. Special operatives and strong martial artists are on this level.
Forty and above belongs to the realm above humans. Mahiru’s pure seventy statuses pced her beyond the normal limits of humans. There is also her SS rated Innate Talent, [Healing Grace].
Its effects were simple: to heal all external and internal wounds.
That was the aspect the [Stamina Restoration Pills] couldn’t achieve. Eishi even has a hunch that it might cure the ‘zombie virus’ once it levels up.
Watching her eagerly exercise, he stuffed one strawberry after another.
Finally…
[Non-exclusive physical talent, “Constitution Boost (B)”, has been awakened.]
…the long-awaited talent appeared.
*****
Warm currents flooded Eishi’s muscles. He started to sweat a lot. The moment he gripped his fingers into a fist, he felt an unmatched power coursing through him. An additional trait was also added to the milky-white core inside his head.
[Constitution Boost (B, First-order)]
Details: Grants a certain boost to the physical constitution.
He checked out his panel.
[Eishi Hiraoka]
Innate Talent: Time Dominator (SSS, First-order)
Non-exclusive Talent: Spatial Backpack (310,000 Cubic Meters), Constitution Boost (B, First-order)
Life Level: First Order, Two Stars
Strength: 145 > 146
Agility: 142
Constitution: 144 > 169
Spirit: 340
‘25 points increase in constitution… that’s worth two and a half level ups.’
Just then, a new prompt popped up.
[The first non-exclusive talent has been awakened. Presenting two choices for the detected talent.]
[1. Bind the B rated talent and rank up normally.]
[2. Temporarily lock the B rated talent to the First-order until its rating increases. Consuming physical talent fruits will increase the talent’s rating. Corresponding attribute increases will be obtained.]
[Maximum rating that can be attained is S.]
It was a no-brainer. While he guessed that leveling is easier with lower-ranked talents, it would only yield attribute points. It is better to increase the rating to the maximum before leveling up.
Eishi chose the second option.
Click.
The milky-white core shone with a dim light before returning to normal. He intuitively felt it was locked to ‘first-order’, with the nutrients from the strawberries being transported on increasing the talent’s quality.
‘These strawberries… They’re just like the golden grapes.’
All of the Evolution Fruit he obtained moments before the apocalypse was of ‘low grade’. They can only consume rge amounts of these low-grade fruits to stack ‘experience points’, thereby leveling up.
‘The entire day… I should be able to reach three stars, no?’
*****
Another day passed. The vicinity of the vil did not experience any changes whatsoever. The women inside felt like the apocalypse hadn't come, but they are not stupid to think so otherwise.
The outside world is filled with carnage. The posts online decreased sharply. The expected government response was nothing but radio silence.
Fortunately, the blood rain stopped four hours after it first appeared. Only the light snow remained.
As for food, water, electricity…
Many people are worried about them. They can make do without electricity, but for those without food and water, they will starve to death.
It isn’t an exaggeration that they are living in a different world… which was why st night’s battles were fierce. Haruno, as the most practical out of the three, saw it very well; Airi and Mahiru acted emotionally.
Haruno made up for her previous session of being defeated in one ‘strike’. Airi dressed up as his little maid and served her master well. Mahiru received the “devil’s” treatment, being bullied until her voice grew raspy.
Eishi had to switch to three rooms in the span of one night. The designated master’s bedroom was left with no owner.
“Three stars…”
[Eishi Hiraoka]
Innate Talent: Time Dominator (SSS, First-order)
Non-exclusive Talent: Spatial Backpack (310,000 Cubic Meters), Constitution Boost (B, First-order)
Life Level: First Order, Three Stars
Strength: 146 > 166
Agility: 142 > 163
Constitution: 169 > 189
Spirit: 340 > 360
‘One thousand strawberries…’
Eishi tracked his consumption and found a pattern. A hundred grapes/strawberries is enough to reach two stars. A thousand grapes/strawberries is required for three stars. As for four stars and above, he hasn’t confirmed it in the time being.
The exaggerated consumption y on him. Airi and Mahiru consumed much less to level up. Haruno consumed even less than them.
This led to a theory of innate talent affecting their level-up requirements. The higher rated it was, the more resources consumed. Eishi predicted that the innate talent could not be raised by anything other than raising one’s own life level.
Their patterns were retively simple. Airi and Mahiru required ten grapes to reach two stars; Haruno needed five. It seems that leveling up is easier compared to triple S rated talents, but Eishi knows talents hold more importance than physical attributes.
His horrifying time stop alone is enough to deal with monsters stronger than him.
Eishi shook his head as he returned to reality. The imposing nd rover was booted up. Mahiru wore a set of arm guards, shoulder guards, knee guards, and a vest. She sat beside the driver’s seat, tension emanating from her body.
‘Save confidantes, track down evolution fruits, and scavenge the warehouses.’
He skipped the police’s armory. Who knew if there were evolved zombies like in the fiction he’d read. Farming bullets and guns with the girls’ help were enough. He taught them the basics of using a gun yesterday for this moment.
“I am leaving the house’s keys to you.”
“Um.”
Eishi gave Airi a kiss before sitting on the driver’s seat. In terms of trust, Airi outweighed Haruno— a cruel but practical evaluation. As such, he entrusted the gate’s “keys” to Airi.
[Romantic Link]’s ability to view favorability was broken enough.
Eishi drove the nd rover until he reached the gate. Haruno stood there waiting for them. A M9A3 pistol is holstered on her waist.
The lowered window allowed him to speak to her. She bit her lower lip before deciding to speak:
“My sister…”
“I’ll visit her complex.”
“Thank you.”
The window soon closed. It hid the turbulent emotions in his eyes.
‘For the sake of a tripe S rated Confidante… heh. I am getting more and more pragmatic, just like the system.’
He knew Yukino very well. She is the ‘star’ of that ACG—the main heroine. Haruno, her older sister, warranted a triple S rating. It is guaranteed she will be of triple S rating as well.
Eishi shook these thoughts off. There was nothing wrong with being pragmatic. He would treat his ‘confidantes’ well. That bottom line of his won’t change.
He shifted his gaze towards Mahiru. Tension hasn’t left her face.
“Do you want to go down?”
“...No.”
She looked resolute as she refused.
“I can’t stay here… and leave you behind.”
Seeing her kindness first-hand warmed him up.
“Kindness is good, but don’t be tricked by others.”
“Mhm.”
One reminder was enough. Mahiru is kind, but she won’t do something dumb. Eishi felt reassured about that judgement.
The towering steel gate was opened. Several zombie corpses sprawled lifelessly beside it. When they drove out, the two saw more zombies killed by the high-voltage electric wall. With nine rebate chances, Eishi consumed fuel at all times to keep the electric fence open. The amount of fuel he’s earning exceeded what he was consuming daily.
The sight wasn’t bloody due to their scorch burns. It was still disgusting to see, nonetheless.
For Eishi, it was manageable, but not for Mahiru. Her eyes remained glued to the outside world. Her pretty face turned pale. Eishi multitasked while driving, giving her a vomit bag to use on.
His concerns were spot on. A pretty girl’s vomit was still vomit. It smelled bad inside the nd rover.
Embarrassment filled Mahiru’s face.
“It’s fine to do so. We’ll have to fight zombies ter.”
“M–mhm…”
*****
A/N: If anyone's wondering, the boost to the rating is a first-time reward.
