Investing in My Harem in the Apocalypse Makes Me Stronger
Chapter 10: Danger

Chapter 10: Danger

He immediately circulated Ruin Dragon Force throughout his entire body.

Dark gray energy spread through his muscles.

It flowed into the Blacksteel Longsword, covering the dark blade.

The pressure around Cain changed.

Maya instinctively stepped away from him.

A large figure emerged from the right corridor.

The zombie stood over two meters tall.

Its upper body had changed completely.

Swollen muscles covered its arms and chest, while several thick veins pulsed beneath its gray skin.

Its fingers had grown longer. The nails were black and sharp.

A portion of its jaw had split near the cheek, allowing its mouth to open wider than a normal human’s.

[Mutated Zombie | Level 17]

Cain narrowed his eyes.

This was the first time his Sense had warned him before he clearly saw the danger.

The Mutated Zombie charged.

Its speed was much greater than its size suggested.

Cain stepped forward, he did not aim for its head immediately.

He wanted to understand how durable its body was before committing to a killing strike.

The zombie swung its arm.

Cain lowered his shoulder and moved beneath it.

The sword cut across the zombie’s side.

Cain expected resistance, but the blade passed through its flesh with surprising ease.

Dark blood sprayed across the floor.

A deep wound opened from the zombie’s ribs to its stomach.

Cain’s eyebrows rose.

’That’s it?’

He had expected a Level 17 Mutated Zombie to possess defenses to be so strong that he needed to go all out facing it.

The creature turned and attacked again.

Cain avoided its hand, then slashed his sword upward.

The blade cut through one of the zombie’s arms.

Cain stepped closer before it could recover. He thrust the Blacksteel Longsword through its mouth.

The point pierced the back of its skull.

Ruin energy entered the wound and destroyed its head.

The Mutated Zombie stopped moving.

Cain pulled the sword free.

Its large body fell backward with a heavy thud.

[Ding! You have killed a Level 17 Mutated Zombie.]

[Ding! You have obtained Strength +6, Physique +3, and Sense +2.]

[Ding! You have leveled up to Level 6, obtaining 3 Free Stat Points.]

[Ding! You have leveled up to Level 7, obtaining 3 Free Stat Points.]

[Ding! You have obtained 700 System Points.]

Power surged through Cain’s body as he could feel that he had become stronger once again.

The improvement to his Sense made the sounds inside the hospital clearer even if it wasn’t by much.

Cain could hear the zombies moving through both corridors.

He could even distinguish Maya’s footsteps behind him from the dragging movements of the infected.

Cain smiled in satisfaction.a

The feeling of becoming stronger so quickly was difficult to describe.

Every Level pushed his body further beyond its previous limits.

Before Cain could enjoy it for long, his sharpened Sense warned him again.

This time, the feeling was much stronger.

Cain instinctively raised his sword.

Clang!

A curved blade struck the Blacksteel Longsword and sparks appeared between the weapons.

Cain’s arm was pushed slightly to the side.

A lean zombie stood in front of him.

Its body was much thinner than the previous Mutated Zombie, but its limbs had changed in a far more dangerous manner.

Both forearms had transformed into long curved blades, the sharpened growths resembled the limbs of a mantis.

Its legs bent strangely beneath it, allowing the creature to remain low to the ground.

The zombie’s cloudy eyes stared directly at Cain.

[Blade Mantis Zombie | Level 24]

’Shit. That was actually dangerous.’ Cain tightened his grip.

Had his Sense not warned him, the blade might have struck his neck.

The Level 24 zombie pulled its arm back.

Cain opened his status without moving his eyes away from it and immediately placed all six Free Stat Points into Agility.

The Blade Mantis Zombie attacked again, its right arm swept toward Cain’s throat.

Cain leaned backward.

The curved blade passed close enough to cut several strands of his hair.

Cain pushed more Ruin Dragon Force throughout his body.

A dull pain spread through his muscles as the dark energy increased, but he ignored it.

The zombie attacked with its other arm.

Cain moved to the side, then he stepped inside the creature’s reach and swung his sword.

Clang!

The sword struck the mutated limb.

The curved blade cracked.

Cain was surprised again as he had expected a much harder fight.

He twisted his wrist and increased the Ruin energy around the sword.

The second slash severed the zombie’s right arm.

Black blood spilled from the wound.

The creature did not react to the pain, as it continued moving by stabbing its left arm toward Cain’s stomach.

Cain shifted his body.

The tip scraped across his shirt without reaching his skin.

Cain then swung his sword upward, the sword cut through the second mutated arm.

Both blade-like limbs fell onto the floor.

The zombie opened its mouth and lunged forward.

Cain stepped to the side, then swung his sword horizontally.

The blade passed through the center of its head.

The upper portion separated and struck the wall.

The remaining body collapsed near Cain’s feet.

[Ding! You have killed a Level 24 Blade Mantis Zombie.]

[Ding! You have obtained Strength +3, Agility +6, and Sense +4.]

[Ding! You have leveled up to Level 8, obtaining 3 Free Stat Points.]

[Ding! You have leveled up to Level 9, obtaining 3 Free Stat Points.]

[Ding! You have leveled up to Level 10, obtaining 3 Free Stat Points.]

[Ding! You have leveled up to Level 11, obtaining 3 Free Stat Points.]

[Ding! You have obtained 1,800 System Points.]

Cain did not have time to inspect the notifications as he noticed that Maya was surrounded.

While Cain fought the mutated zombies, the normal infected had continued pouring into the lobby.

Maya stood near the registration counter.

She used the counter to prevent the zombies from reaching her back, but three of them attacked from the front.

Her fencing sword pierced one zombie’s eye.

Before she could pull the blade free, another reached for her shoulder.

Cain rushed forward, his speed had increased greatly after the recent rewards and Levels.

He crossed the lobby before Maya fully noticed him move.

The sword cut through the second zombie’s neck.

Cain kicked the third in the chest, its body flew backward and struck two infected students behind it.

"Are you alright?" Cain asked.

Maya pulled her sword free.

"Yes."

She looked at Cain with wide eyes as she noticed that Cain had become much stronger in that short period of time.

Cain glanced at his hands because the amount of Ruin Dragon Force circulating through his body had started causing discomfort.

His muscles felt tight. A dull strain spread along his legs, making his movements less natural.

Cain lowered the amount of energy flowing through him and the stiffness eased.

He looked toward the two corridors.

There were no more mutated zombies nearby.

However, more than a dozen ordinary infected people crowded the left side.

Cain rushed toward them. His sword moved across the corridor.

Several zombies lost their legs, while the others were cut through the waist.

He avoided their heads and returned to the lobby once every creature had fallen.

"Maya, finish them."

Maya nodded.

Cain immediately entered the opposite corridor.

Another group of zombies moved toward him.

He disabled them using the same method.

The Blacksteel Longsword passed through their bodies with little resistance.

Once the corridor was clear, Cain checked the open areas connected directly to the lobby.

He searched the waiting area, the registration counter, and the nearby examination spaces.

No other zombie remained outside the closed rooms.

Cain finally deactivated Ruin Dragon Force.

The stiffness became more noticeable for several seconds.

Cain stretched his shoulders and slowly opened his hands until the discomfort faded.

Using Ruin Dragon Force throughout his entire body placed far more strain on him than reinforcing only one section.

His increased Physique allowed him to endure it, but he still needed to avoid keeping the skill active unnecessarily.

Cain returned to the corpses of the mutated zombies.

A blue light floated beside the Level 17 Mutated Zombie.

Near the Blade Mantis Zombie, a second Blue Orb rested beside a rolled cyan scroll.

Cain picked up the scroll first.

[Cyan Scroll]

[Contains one random ??? / ??? compatible with the user.]