Investing in My Harem in the Apocalypse Makes Me Stronger
Chapter 26: World Announcement

Chapter 26: World Announcement

When the auditorium appeared ahead, the survivors guarding the entrance rushed outside.

Their expressions brightened at the sight of the buses and trucks.

Professor Holt immediately began organizing the unloading.

Cain jumped down from the vehicle.

"Leave most of the food inside the trucks."

Professor Holt looked toward him.

"You don’t want to move it into the auditorium?"

"We’ll be leaving soon."

Cain glanced toward the sky.

The daylight would not last forever.

"We should keep everything ready and only take out what people need before departure."

Cain climbed the auditorium steps and entered the building.

Alex remained near the stage, his swollen face had improved slightly.

The pile of unfinished metal rods beside him had become much smaller.

Cain walked toward the center of the auditorium and raised his voice.

"Everyone, prepare yourselves."

The conversations inside the building gradually stopped.

Cain looked across the survivors and continued, "Gather whatever belongs to you. Only take things that are useful."

Several students exchanged nervous looks.

Cain continued before anyone could interrupt.

"Once we begin traveling, we might not have time to rest whenever we want."

He pointed toward the auditorium entrance.

"We don’t know what the roads look like outside the university. We don’t know how many zombies are waiting in the city, and we have no information about whether the military or police are still operating."

He continued as he looked at everyone, "The moment we leave this place, everyone needs to follow instructions. Anyone who wanders away will be responsible for their own life."

The survivors began speaking quietly among themselves.

Several wanted to ask when they would depart.

Before the first question came, a clear notification sounded inside everyone’s mind.

Ding!

The noise was different from the notifications received after leveling as it was somehow louder.

A translucent golden screen appeared before everyone’s eyes in the auditorium.

The students stopped moving and focused their attention on the screen in front of them.

Even Cain stared at the unfamiliar color.

[World Announcement]

[The first player to kill a First-Echelon being while remaining an Unranked Awakener has appeared.]

[The name "Heavenly Demon" shall be recorded in the history of this world.]

[Heavenly Demon has received a Yellow Scroll and a Yellow Orb.]

Silence followed the announcement.

Nobody had heard the term First Echelon before.

However, the rewards immediately attracted Cain’s attention.

The strongest items he had encountered so far came from a Cyan Scroll and Blue Orbs.

Yellow was clearly above both.

Another notification appeared before the first screen disappeared.

[World Announcement]

[The first player to have successfully advanced to the First Echelon.]

[The name "Heavenly Demon" shall be recorded in the history of this world.]

[Heavenly Demon has received a Cyan Scroll and a Cyan Orb.]

The auditorium erupted.

"What the hell is a First Echelon?"

"Someone already advanced?"

"Where is this person?"

"How did he kill something stronger than him?"

Cain ignored the questions as his mind was already focused on the rewards.

A Yellow Scroll and a Yellow Orb.

Then another Cyan Scroll and Cyan Orb after advancing.

The System had rewarded the first achievement with enough valuable objects to strengthen one person tremendously.

Cain had no idea how strong a First-Echelon creature was.

And that needed to change now, as his eyes immediately moved across the auditorium.

"Elara."

She turned toward him.

"Ron. Jack. Nathan."

The other three also looked at him.

Cain did not waste time explaining gently.

"The four of you are coming with me."

Ron frowned and asked, "Where?"

"We’re scouting the road outside the western gate."

Cain looked toward Nathan.

"We’ll also search for strong zombies or mutated creatures."

His lips curved upward as he continued, "As long as it isn’t human and gives experience, we kill it."

"A world announcement appears and your first thought is to run outside looking for whatever caused it?" Ron raised an eyebrow.

"Of course."

Cain turned toward Alex.

The weightlifter stopped working and raised his head.

"You’ll guard this place again."

Alex’s expression darkened.

Cain continued before he could complain, "I’ll give you something when we return."

"What kind of thing?" Alex asked with a doubtful expression.

"That depends on what we find."

Cain approached the pile of rods beside him.

More than half had been modified. Their flat ends had been twisted into rough points.

Cain picked up several and checked the alignment.

Alex’s work had improved as the later rods were sharper and straighter than the first batch.

Cain waved his hand and put the modified metal rods into his inventory.

"That’s enough." Cain smiled faintly, "Thank you for your hard work."

Alex stared at him as though he suspected another insult was coming, but Cain simply walked away.

"You’ll join the second scouting group after we return. Prepare yourself."

Alex looked at the unfinished rods beside him.

"So I can stop?"

"For now." Cain replied and approached Professor Holt.

The professor had already guessed Cain’s intention.

"You want to find a First-Echelon monster?"

"I want information."

Cain looked toward the western side of the campus as he continued.

"If we leave without knowing how strong those things are, one of them might destroy a bus before we understand what we’re facing."

Professor Holt could not deny the logic.

They still had no idea what kind of danger was waiting for them outside the university.

Nobody else volunteered to join as they understood the difference between killing disabled zombies and hunting something capable of triggering a World Announcement.

Cain had no time to protect anyone who could not keep up.

He checked the weapons of the selected team.

Elara carried the Frostveil Sword.

Jack wore his Impact Gloves.

Nathan’s bow remained in excellent condition, and his quiver had been refilled from the Archery Club’s storage.

Ron held Cain’s old Unranked Dagger.

Cain looked toward the auditorium entrance.

"We’ll leave now."

Nathan took the lead after they left the auditorium as he was the best in terms of scouting between them.

He had trained to observe distant targets, so his visual talent allowed him to notice movement far beyond the range of an ordinary person.

The Wind element also responded to changes around him, carrying faint sounds and scents toward his position.

If something dangerous blocked the road, Nathan had the highest chance of finding it before the group walked into its range.

Cain made the arrangement clear before they moved.

"Nathan leads until we find a target."

He looked toward Ron and Jack.

"You follow his instructions immediately."

Ron pointed at Cain. "You should worry about yourself."

"I know what I’m doing."

"That’s exactly what someone says before doing something stupid."

Jack rolled his shoulders as he said, "Stop arguing. We’re wasting time."

"At least one of you understands." Cain nodded toward him.

Ron looked offended, but before he could start talking, Nathan had already started moving.

"Save it for later."

Ron cursed beneath his breath and followed.

They crossed the western section of the university.

Several zombies appeared along the route.

Elara and Nathan killed them without slowing the group for long.

The remaining infected were too scattered for them to even bother in killing them.

When the western gate came into view, Nathan raised his arm.

The team instantly reduced their speed.