Investing in My Harem in the Apocalypse Makes Me Stronger
Chapter 19: Another Swollen Face

Chapter 19: Another Swollen Face

The team headed east from the auditorium.

Their destination was the largest cafeteria on campus.

The building served thousands of students every day, which meant its storage rooms should contain a considerable amount of food.

They encountered their first group of zombies near a parking area.

Cain moved ahead, swinging his sword several times and quickly disabled them before stepping aside.

"Doctor Owen. Evelyne."

The two healers approached while holding the javelins Cain had given them before leaving the auditorium.

Doctor Owen gripped his weapon with both hands. His posture was awkward since he had no experience using a spear, but the long shaft allowed him to keep a safe distance from the crawling zombie.

Evelyne held her javelin closer to the middle. Her expression became tense when one of the disabled zombies reached toward her feet.

Cain pointed toward their heads.

"Use the point and pierce through the eye or temple. Don’t stab randomly and waste your strength."

Doctor Owen nodded.

He stepped toward the nearest zombie and raised the javelin. After hesitating for a moment, he thrust downward.

The metal point struck the side of the zombie’s forehead but failed to penetrate deeply enough as the zombie continued moving.

Doctor Owen pulled the weapon free, adjusted the angle, then thrust again.

This time, the javelin entered through its eye and pierced into its brain.

Then the zombie finally stopped moving.

A notification appeared before him.

Doctor Owen released the breath he had been holding and stared at his hands.

He had spent years saving lives.

Driving a weapon through someone’s skull felt completely unnatural, even when the person in front of him was no longer human.

Evelyne stood in front of another disabled zombie.

The creature dragged itself toward her while snapping its teeth.

Evelyne took a step backward.

Cain looked at her and said, "Kill it."

"I know."

She tightened both hands around the javelin and stabbed downward.

The point struck the zombie’s cheek and slid across the bone.

Evelyne immediately pulled the weapon back.

The zombie’s fingers nearly caught her ankle.

Her face became pale.

"Use the eye," Cain reminded her. "The skull is harder than you think."

Evelyne gritted her teeth and stepped forward again.

She aimed more carefully before thrusting the javelin through the zombie’s right eye.

The point penetrated deeply.

The zombie’s body twitched before becoming motionless.

[Ding! You have killed a Level 7 Zombie.]

[Ding! You have leveled up to level 1, obtaining 3 free stat points.]

[Ding! You have leveled up to level 2, obtaining 3 free stat points.]

Together with the notifications in front of her, energy entered Evelyne’s body.

Her trembling gradually weakened as every one of her stats increased.

She stared at the corpse beneath her.

The disgust on her face had not disappeared, but a faint trace of satisfaction appeared when she felt herself becoming stronger.

"Feels good, doesn’t it?" Cain asked.

Evelyne glared at him.

"Killing someone doesn’t feel good."

"I meant becoming stronger."

Evelyne looked away.

"A little."

Cain disabled another group of zombies.

Doctor Owen and Evelyne followed behind him, using their javelins to deliver the final blows.

Their thrusts were clumsy at first, but the long weapons allowed them to maintain enough distance from the zombies’ teeth and hands.

After several kills, their movements became more accurate.

Doctor Owen learned to place one foot on a zombie’s shoulder before piercing through its temple.

Evelyne stopped hesitating whenever Cain left another infected creature crawling in front of her.

One thrust through the eye was usually enough.

Their expressions remained gloomy during the first few kills.

However, every Level made their bodies stronger and increased the energy available for their Healing abilities.

Cain reminded them how to distribute their Free Stat Points.

"Focus on Mana and Magic."

Doctor Owen nodded.

"That will strengthen my healing?"

"In a nutshell, Magic should increase the power of your skills while Mana determines how many times you can use them."

Cain looked toward Evelyne.

"The same applies to you."

Evelyne opened her status and assigned most of her points according to his instructions.

A warm current flowed through her body.

The amount of Mana she could sense inside herself increased noticeably.

Her gloomy expression gradually improved.

She had spent the last hour believing that her D-rank Talent made her useless.

Now, she could clearly feel that even a weak Talent would become more useful as her stats increased.

Cain watched her reaction without commenting.

Afterward, they continued moving.

The cafeteria appeared beyond a row of trees. It was a large two-story building with wide glass windows facing the central plaza.

A loading area was located behind it.

Several delivery trucks remained parked near the rear entrance.

Cain immediately noticed them.

However, before he could examine the vehicles more carefully, a faint sound reached his ears.

Cain raised his right hand and managed to catch something.

Thuk!

Cain looked at the arrow in his hand.

A blunt training tip had been attached to the end.

It might not have penetrated a human’s body, but it could still injure someone with lower Physique if they were to get hit by this.

Ron stared at Cain’s hand.

"You caught that?"

Cain looked toward the cafeteria.

Professor Irina lowered her own bow slightly with a surprised expression.

She understood how fast an arrow traveled.

Catching one barehanded required more than speed.

Cain had noticed its approach early enough to intercept it without turning his entire body.

Elara’s expression became cold as her hand rested on the Frostveil Sword.

"Where did it come from?"

"The cafeteria."

Cain examined the arrow.

At the speed they had been moving, it was unlikely to hit anyone directly.

The shooter had probably aimed near them on purpose.

However, that did not make the action acceptable.

Firing an arrow toward an unknown group during an apocalypse could easily cause a fight.

Cain tightened his fingers around the shaft.

Crack!

The arrow snapped.

"These bastards are playing too much." Cain opened his Inventory, a sharpened metal rod appeared in his hand.

He looked toward the cafeteria.

Several faint weaknesses ran across the exterior walls through his Faultline Vision.

Cain adjusted his stance as the Ruin Dragon Force entered his right arm and spread across the rod.

The metal darkened.

His rear foot pressed against the ground, then he threw the rod.

Bang!

The rod crossed the plaza so quickly that most people only heard the sound after it struck the building.

It pierced the cafeteria’s outer wall, the metal rod continued through the first room before striking another wall deeper inside.

Crack!

The rod broke after failing to penetrate the second reinforced surface.

Inside the cafeteria, several students had been laughing near a broken window.

However, their expressions froze when a hole appeared in the wall beside them.

One young man slowly lowered the bow in his hand.

He had short brown hair and a narrow face.

A man standing near him looked through the hole created by the metal rod.

His eyes followed the trajectory toward Cain’s approaching group.

He possessed a talent that improved his vision. That allowed him to understand how much power had been contained in the throw.

The man gave Cole a mocking look.

"You’re cooked."

Cole gulped.

"What?"

"One of them is truly strong." The man pointed toward the hole and continued, "And he’s pissed about your joke."

Cole looked outside and noticed that Cain’s group was approaching.

Even from a distance, he could see the anger on Cain’s face.

"I didn’t mean to hurt them."

Cole tightened his grip around the bow.

"It was just a joke."

The person beside him stepped away and shrugged, "You should explain that to him."

Cole looked toward the strongest member of their group.

The man stood near the cafeteria entrance with a calm expression as if telling him that he wouldn’t interfere.

Cole’s confidence disappeared.

Outside, Cain crossed the remaining distance with his group following behind him.

He stopped in front of the cafeteria entrance.

"Who shot the arrow?"

His voice carried across the plaza, but no one answered.

Cain looked between them.

He did not need a confession as Cole’s expression had already revealed the answer.

The young man avoided Cain’s gaze while slowly lowering the bow behind his leg.

Cain cracked his neck while stretching his knuckles.

"It seems someone needs to knock some sense into you."

Cole stepped backward.

Cain circulated Ruin Dragon Force through his legs.

"I’ll gladly be the one."

His body disappeared from where he stood.

Cain crossed the distance before Cole could fully raise his bow.

He appeared directly in front of him.

Cole’s eyes widened.

Cain grabbed the front of his shirt and said in anger, "You think shooting arrows at people is funny?"

"It was a training arrow."

Slap!

Cain’s palm struck Cole’s cheek. The bow fell from his hand.

"You could’ve hit someone and hurt them."

Slap!

Cole’s head twisted toward the other side.

"I wasn’t aiming at anyone!"

Slap!

"Then your aim is shit." Cain continued beating him.

Cole tried to cover his face, but Cain pulled his arm aside and slapped him again.

The members of the cafeteria group remained still as they had witnessed Cain’s speed.

Most could not even follow his movement.

One person had managed to see him clearly. That man now watched Cain with a serious expression.

He was the strongest among them. Even so, he did not interfere as Cole had created the confrontation himself.

Slap!

Cain’s palm landed again.

"People are being eaten outside."

Slap!

"And you’re wasting arrows on jokes?"

When Cole’s face began swelling, Cain finally released his shirt.

The young man collapsed onto the floor.

Cain looked down at him.

"Try that again and I’ll aim the rod at you next time."

Cole covered his face and nodded quickly.