"Damn."
One word spilled out of Eishi's mouth. He watched as the streaks of black and red blood turned the entire cafeteria upside down. The broken fragments floated mid-air before shooting towards the third-order zombie.
With the protection of two offensive players, the other two supporters only have to be mindful of their environment and dodge any attack that passes through the gaps.
It wasn't even much of a desperate fight. He could tell Saeko was holding back, wanting to use the poor zombie as a whetstone. It falls right into Eishi's intention of gaining experience.
Life and death battles are a big no-no. It is completely pointless when they are destined to be far ahead of the human's top strength. The best they can do is to 'see' the skillsets and capabilities of higher-leveled zombies so that in the future, they won't get caught off guard by bizarre skills.
'A dangerous world can turn into a slice-of-life with enough power…'
Eishi already looted the intact stores on this floor. Without anything else to do, he leisurely checked their statuses.
[Saeko Busujima]
Innate Talent: Blood Predator (SS, Third-order)
Non-exclusive Talent: Agility Boost (B, Second-order), Spirit Boost (B, Second-order), Bioelectricity (A, Second-order), Clairvoyance (A, Second-order), Metal Sharpening (A, Second-order), Regeneration (A, Second-order)
Life Level: Third-order, Two-star
Strength: 123 > 588
Agility: 154 > 694
Constitution: 123 > 588
Spirit: 210 > 1,100
Saeko's progress was the fastest. Her boldness and rather unhinged approach in combat made her the ceiling of Eishi's women. She is also much diligent in leveling up compared to others.
'Splitting attention… I really have to thank her.'
It was also through her did he learn the method of multitasking. Saeko developed it on her own, which was instantly learned by Eishi. He can now walk around while siphoning off the experience points inside the zombie crystals.
It also reminded him of his 1,400% boost in comprehension.
'I am wasting this talent…'
Even though he had reached the maximum level of his [Seven Stars Severing Art], Eishi still felt he was underutilizing it.
The technique itself does not work like 'martial arts' and 'immortal cultivation'. It is more of imprinting an extra [Non-exclusive Talent] inside his milky white core. Its "Fifth Rank" rating corresponded to the "Fifth-order". Once he is beyond that level, its effectiveness would begin to wane (i.e., force amplification).
Eishi checked on the other three.
[Shizuka Marikawa]
Innate Talent: Heaven's Assistance (SS, Second-order)
Non-exclusive Talent: Constitution Boost (B, Second-order), Spirit Boost (B, Second-order), Regeneration (A, Second-order), Lightning Cage (A, Second-order)
Life Level: Second-order, One-star
Strength: 8 > 213
Agility: 10 > 215
Constitution: 8 > 288
Spirit: 10 > 438
Unlike Eishi's three days of eating grapes and peaches to level up, the latecomer Shizuka had it better. The quality of the fruits being found in the wild is increasing. Leveling up became easier and faster.
She cut down Eishi's three days into a single day. Her lower-rated talent than him also contributed to this endeavor.
'I didn't do it with her last night. She should be able to withstand more…'
He recalled what happened yesterday afternoon. Shizuka's pitiful single-digit attributes did not last twenty minutes in front of Eishi. He had to find Saya next door, which lasted hours. The aftermath was big, too. If it wasn't for Mahiru's healing talent, Shizuka wouldn't have been able to walk normally.
'That's right…'
[Mayumi Yuigahama]
Innate Talent: Temperature Control (S, Second-order)
Non-exclusive Talent: Constitution Boost (B, Second-order), Flower Druid (B, Second-order), Regeneration (A, Second-order)
Life Level: Second-order, Nine-star
Strength: 451
Agility: 450
Constitution: 530
Spirit: 483
Eishi checked on Mrs. Yuigahama's panel. She, Yui, and Shizuka faced corresponding drops in their attributes upon having their innate talents enhanced. The 'recalibration' accounted for the genetic energy (i.e., experience points) they held.
Fortunately, he is dead rich. They easily recovered that drop in a single night.
Eishi entertained himself while enjoying the front view of this cinematic battle. It did not last longer than three minutes, however. The zombie's strength dwindled while the group of women remained the same. The [Stamina Restoration Pill] is an absurd hack that turns anyone into a nigh-perpetual fighting machine.
Seeing the zombie beheaded by Saeko's blood sword, he no longer lingered around. He discreetly left their vicinity and headed towards the next group.
Unfortunately for him, the battle on Haruno's team was over. Airi's four third-order zombies are akin to bulldozers. It is a thorough abuse of her higher-level, leaving the opposing zombies on their side helpless.
Although from their states, it could be seen that the others also fought. Eishi could barely sense Megumi's location with [Romantic Link]. Not even his exaggerated spirit attribute could catch her now. The SSS rating on her innate talent is a well-deserved one.
Soon, he arrived on Shizuka-sensei's team.
'Well…'
Eishi watched as the girls beat down the zombie to the ground one-by-one. Saya is in the back, using her talent to dig deeper into this third-order zombie's genetic information. Out of the three teams, it is the one that suffered the most.
'Not a team of vases, but ones who could protect themselves… I did a good job too.'
No one could explain how exasperatingly tiring it was to see a protagonist save a heroine in distress. Eishi would rather prefer a heroine who can save herself and be by the protagonist's side—which is what egged him on to make them stronger.
Seeing his efforts bear fruit made him feel an unmatched sense of satisfaction.
'There are cosplays inside my backpack. After the trip to Tokyo…'
*****
Throughout the entire day, Eishi's team cleared a total of three major department malls. His rather desolate spatial backpack had a portion of its space taken over by mountains of clothes and other sundries.
Luxury brand clothes, medicines, intact dry food, everything inside the department malls are ransacked in. Even without the 30 daily rebate chances Eishi holds, they could still have food to eat for a hundred years.
Their group of convoys was on their way home when their previously cleared route was blocked with cars.
Car wreckages and fallen building fragments blocking the national roads are common occurrences since the beginning of the apocalypse. Their best solution was someone getting off and pushing these rubbles away.
Eishi looked around and saw a faint hint of orange light. He removed the call on hold.
"There is an ambush. Who wants to deal with it?"
"I will go."
Shizuka-sensei's voice came from the other side. She left the land rover and began pushing the wreckage away.
Just then, four figures shot out from inside the surrounding buildings. Their first thought wasn't Shizuka-sensei's beautiful looks, but the three modified cars. They are not brainless to assume that she could be easily captured. Hence they all went for the kill.
Boom-!
A swift roundhouse kick sent one of the figures flying. His body was split into two halves, creating a mess on the concrete wall they flew in.
Bam-!
Another one was punched straight to the stomach. Her fist easily tore a hole at his abdomen, sending him stumbling backwards.
The other two froze on their tracks. Their wide eyes stared at the direction where their comrades flew in. The most primal fear took hold of their hearts, instantly chilling their murderous intentions.
"S-spare me!"
In a comedic manner, the man swiftly got down to a dogeza. Neither Shizuka-sensei nor he expected that he would end up resorting to a comical way to apologize.
The other man stared at her bloodied gray long-sleeves and black slacks. He followed suit to the first man's dogeza.
Only Shizuka-sensei's soft breathing could be heard.
She looked at the blood on her clothes, and then to her fists. She would have been extremely repulsive had it been in the past. She would never think of hurting others, much less killing them.
The apocalypse either amplified both humanity's light and darkness to the most extreme degree—Shizuka saw them all.
Now, her only thought was her responsibility as an adult… as a guardian. She feels compelled to protect Eishi and others. It is the driving force behind her rapid adaptation to this new world.
Hesitation no longer hindered her actions. She took out the M9A4 in her waist and cleanly shot them both. The enhanced pistol turned their kneeling bodies into a pool of red mush, with craters appearing beneath.
Somewhat heavy-hearted, she returned to the land rover. The casual mood inside turned serious. Everyone got infected by Shizuka-sensei's brooding.
Only then did they remember one thing:
The outside world is hell on earth.
Spending time inside the harmonious and peaceful villa easily led them to forget the outside world's situation. Order had collapsed. People are now resorting to murder over the most trivial things. When everyone is acting as they wanted, the world will be in chaos.
The attempted ambush just now wouldn't have ended well without their current power—all of which came from Eishi.
This short segment pushed almost everyone to mull over the things they took for granted.
Eishi, who was driving, was startled by the red dot on his system's menu. He clicked on it and saw several familiar notices.
[Spiritual connection between the host and the confidante has reached the 'Devoted' level. Reward: Carbon-based Synthesized Shoes (Sixth Rank)]
[Spiritual connection between the host and the confidante has reached the 'Devoted' level. Reward: Special Edition Land Rover (Sixth Rank)]
He was surprised with the notices.
'Who are these two..?'
He looked around the car. Yui has an unknown value. The same went for Mrs. Yuigahama. Megumi's [95], however, is extremely noticeable in their surroundings.
'It was 92 yesterday…'
The final woman inside his land rover was the clutz Shizuka. Her favorability skyrocketed from [79] to [85] during this day.
'Who's the other one? Could it be Hiratsuka-sensei?'
Eishi realized he could simply call over the confidante list to see who unlocked the [Affection Burst] function. As he had expected, it was Shizuka-sensei who unlocked it along with Megumi.
He did not think much of it, instead focusing on the rewards he received. Eishi checked the shoes' description and found them to be glaringly similar to the [Divine Stockings]. It is basically an enhanced version of running shoes, one that won't break even if a sixth-order force is exerted.
Though he hasn't thought much about it, breaking shoes has always been one of his major problems. Eishi repeatedly experiences it whenever he exerts greater force.
Fortunately, the weapon synthesis workbench accepted 'shoes' as a form of 'weapon'. He mass-produced third rank shoes which completely resolved this problem for him and for others.
Having the higher-tiered shoes made no difference, at least from what he could see.
The other reward was an especially-modified land rover, which, according to his guesses, is also an enhanced version of the land rover they are in.
'Sixth rank. It should be able to withstand rpgs and missile blasts, no?'
Eishi does not have a clear ranking of higher-leveled espers. All he knows is that his current power is way beyond the norm. One look at Saeko's third-order explains everything. His four-digit attributes are something else.
The entire journey was spent between thinking about things and pinching Megumi's 'absolute territory' (i.e., the area between her thighs and stockings). Out of sheer embarrassment, she activated her triple S rated talent to the greatest extent, causing others to ignore her altogether—that, and Eishi's behavior.
Nothing else happened on the way home. Everyone soon got off the land rovers.
"Ahem. The first place goes to Saeko. The second…"
Eishi listed the rankings. It is based on their contributions. Undeniably, the clumsy Shizuka sat at the bottom tier. Though she offered the augmentation to Yui, she almost got struck by the blood spikes several times. Her dodging skills are a notch behind Mrs. Yuigahama's. In this regard, she is the heavier burden for Saeko.
The captain in mention looked at her with a hint of… envy.
"Hiratsuka-sensei. I am leaving things to you."
"Alright."
Her calm tone reassured him. Everyone, be it him or the others around him, are adapting to this new 'world'.
With a thought, a brand new land rover appeared. Its hood touched his palm, an apparent prerequisite when it comes to summoning things from the spatial backpack. The item would always appear within his touch.
The car's design was exactly the same as the previous land rovers. Saeko did not think much of it until she noticed the lack of modified steel plates. She curiously knocked on the car's door, only to be met with a solid sensation.
Though its size and shape did not change, it became extremely tough.
"Eishi-kun, this car…"
"Bullets won't be able to get through it."
The two stepped inside. The cozy sensation found in his villa became apparent with this modified land rover's heaters. All that was left inside was the scent of blood and a girl.
He took a glance at the obedient Saeko. The seatbelt rested between her breasts, forming a noticeable crevice.
'We haven't even left yet…'
Seemingly noticing his gaze, her eyes showed bewilderment before her lips flashed a smile.
To defeat his growing inner demons, Eishi kickstarted the land rover. They soon drove off from the villa, entering the expressways through the national road.
'Absolute territory and stockings…'