"W-We all made it. We all survived."
The atmosphere around the mansion had eased as soon as the timer in the sky disappeared. Instead, a clear message greeted everyone, filling them with relief.
[Congratulations, you managed to survive the first 24 hours of the apocalypse. A welcome gift has been sent to your inventory.]
[Humans, evolve further and show us your resolution. Only then will you be able to survive until the end of the apocalypse.]
Those words in the sky served as both a warning and motivation for people to keep pushing forward. Moreover, it confirmed that there was an end to this nightmare.
That gave Rin enough motivation to get started on his next task. He turned to the 150+ people standing before him and coughed to gather their attention.
His voice was not loud, but it still cut through the silence and made everyone look at him.
"Everyone, we managed to survive the first night, but this is only the start. We're heading into uncertain territory now, but don't let it shake you. First, please choose a task from the list prepared by my butler, and let's survive together."
Rin's corny speech did its job in getting people emotionally invested in survival. They enthusiastically moved toward the butler and signed up for tasks.
These ranged from menial tasks like farm work to technical jobs like increasing sector security.
Rin's goal was simple- he was slowly going to expand his area of influence and gather more and more people under him. He had initially not wanted to do this because he had not seen it feasible to become a superpower.
But with the current support he had from the people around him, he suddenly felt like he could push for more.
[You have opened the possibility for a new trait [leader]. Once you get 250+ people under your control, your new trait will bloom]
This was another welcome change and it almost felt like a gift. Rin gracefully accepted this and ignored any nonsense the system was about to spout.
…
Having 150+ people under his command was not an easy job. Not only did such a mass cause problems with management, but it also increased the chance of different personalities clashing.
That was why it was necessary to keep people busy. That way, they won't have time to clash with each other. And one such method to do that was to divide people into teams.
The first thing he had asked his butler to do was select a few workers and note everyone's current skills. Then, they would need to divide them into balanced teams and assign work.
It was a thankless task but perfect for the ENC section heads who did this every day. They were more than happy to take over his responsibilities.
That left Rin some free time to get other things in order. And he chose the perfect person to accompany him for this task.
Reina did not look happy to see Rin knocking on her door the next morning. She looked like she had barely slept and her disheveled appearance made Rin feel like he was disturbing her.
But at the same time, he did not feel like he could trust anyone else yet.
"Who is it? What do you want? Ugh, can you come back later? I need to sleep."
Reina's eyes almost rolled to the back of her head due to exhaustion and she tried to lean against the door to keep herself steady. But her body immediately gave way when she tried to leave her support.
Rin immediately caught her body and helped her inside. It was a little difficult but he eventually got Reina inside and onto the bed.
"How did you end up like this? Her temperature was slightly elevated, and her pulse was a bit fast. You should know better than to over-exert yourself like this."
Rin reminded Reina as he felt her forehead and then her pulse. Her head was a little hot and her pulse a little fast, but she did not seem in too much danger.
"Ugh, don't lecture me. It's all those losers' fault. Why do people think checking how to use their powers is for the best? They all keep getting injured and I have to treat one person every ten minutes.. Can't they all take precautions beforehand?"
Reina complained from the bed and rubbed her forehead.
"Isn't it a good thing for everyone to check their power while they have someone to heal them?"
"Then ask them not to use it with others around. Or, at least do it in batches. Ugh, I cannot keep doing this anymore. I feel like I am going to explode."
Rin wanted to tell Reina that these were two different issues but he kept his mouth shut in case she got even more stressed.
But now that Reina was sick, Rin felt like he was in a bind as well. He did not want to drag a sick person outside, but getting the item he needed without Reina's help would be hard…
'Well, as long as it's only hard and not impossible, I should be able to get it done somehow.'
[Ding! Ding! Ding! What is this? Is the user in trouble? Please allow this system to help you out.]
[When in trouble, the system's general store is always the place to check. From weapons to clothes, we sell it all. Why are you surprised? Are you too surprised by the system's generosity?]
[Dear user, it's in its beta phase... The store is all yours to use. However, since it's in a beta phase, please understand that the benefits it can provide are limited.]
Rin looked at the system store with disbelief.
'Is this for real? Or is it a trap?'
The MC had gotten access to the store halfway through the second arc of the original novel and it had been considered early access. The other people only got access to it after the fourth arc. This store was an important part of the main story progression and made the MC a lot of money..
Coincidentally, it had also been what made Rin sponsor the MC in the original story. The resources provided by the store were just that good.
[User, what are you waiting for? Are you not going to take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity? If you don't accept the beta version of the store, then you will have to wait for this opportunity to appear again. Who knows how long it will take?]
Rin hated to admit it, but the system was right. This was an opportunity he could not miss. Even if it was a trap, he had to risk going through it