Investing in My Harem in the Apocalypse Makes Me Stronger
Chapter 33: Elara’s 1st Echelon Advancement Mission

Chapter 33: Elara’s 1st Echelon Advancement Mission

"Cain!"

Elara’s shout pulled him away from his thoughts.

Cain turned and looked at her.

She had just withdrawn the sword from a mutated zombie’s chest.

The weapon was still Cain’s Blacksteel Longsword, but a layer of frost covered its edge from Elara’s Ice Mana.

The zombie collapsed at her feet.

Elara looked at the notification in front of her.

"I reached Level 25."

Cain walked toward her.

"What’s your advancement mission?"

Elara focused on the new panel.

[You have reached the maximum Level of the Unranked stage.]

[Further Levels cannot be obtained until you complete your 1st Echelon Advancement Mission.]

[1st Echelon Advancement Mission]

[Kill 25 Unranked beings at Level 20 or higher without assistance.]

[Progress: 0/25]

Elara read it aloud.

"To kill twenty-five Unranked beings of at least Level 20 on my own."

Cain raised an eyebrow.

"That’s easy."

Elara looked at him strangely.

"For you, perhaps."

"There are plenty of high-level zombies outside the university."

Cain glanced at the remaining infected.

"For now, let Ron and Jack increase their Levels."

Ron had already heard him and sneered, "How generous of you!"

Cain looked at him.

"You’re welcome."

"That wasn’t a compliment!"

"We’ll focus on your mission after this," Cain told Elara.

She nodded obediently.

Cain put aside his thoughts about the Yellow Scrolls and Orb rewards.

The remaining zombies were no longer dangerous enough to require his attention.

Nathan obeyed Cain’s instruction and did not interfere.

Elara also held back from taking every kill after reaching the Unranked limit.

Ron and Jack handled most of the remaining infected.

Two minutes later, the final zombie finally collapsed with a thud.

Ron leaned against the spear, his chest rose rapidly as he wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"You heartless bastard."

"Who are you talking to?" Cain looked around.

"You!"

"I didn’t do anything."

"That’s the problem!"

Ron pointed toward Nathan.

"This bastard reached the First Echelon and stood there watching us struggle."

"Cain told me not to interfere." Nathan replied as he adjusted the bow on his shoulder.

"You could’ve ignored him."

Nathan shrugged in response.

Ron turned toward Jack, who was inspecting a crack on one of his Impact Gloves.

"You could’ve helped more."

"I killed more than you."

Ron’s expression became offended.

"That’s because your arms are thicker than my legs."

Jack did not bother responding.

Elara wiped her sword against the clothes of a fallen zombie before approaching Cain.

There were several shallow cuts along her sleeve. A bruise had formed near her shoulder, though neither injury affected her movement.

Ron had suffered a wound across his forearm.

Jack’s knuckles had split beneath the damaged gloves.

Cain raised one hand and used his (Greater Restoration) skill.

A concentrated green light entered Ron’s arm first.

The torn flesh closed quickly.

Ron stared at the disappearing wound.

"I still can’t believe you have a healing skill. How did you obtain it?"

Cain ignored him as he moved toward Jack and repaired the damage around his knuckles.

Elara’s injuries required little Mana.

The bruise faded beneath the green light, followed by the cuts along her arm.

Nathan watched with interest.

The Mana Core inside him allowed him to sense the concentration of energy within Cain’s Skill more clearly than before.

Healing was not Cain’s main attribute, yet the Skill’s quality was truly good.

Cain lowered his hand.

"Gather everything that dropped."

The group searched the corpses.

Most had left nothing behind, but the stronger mutated zombies had been far more generous.

By the time they finished, they had gathered 1 Blue Scroll, 2 Blue Orbs, 2 Green Scrolls, and 7 Green Orbs.

Ron looked at the pile of glowing objects.

"We’re rich."

"Don’t exaggerate. These are only useful if we get equipment suited to us." Cain chuckled.

Nathan approached.

Cain remembered the Talent he had obtained.

"What did the Cyan Scroll give you?"

"Twin Fang Instinct — S-rank Talent."

Nathan then explained the description.

"You’re an archer." Ron looked at him.

"I’m aware."

"And you received a Talent for using two daggers?"

"It gives me a close-range option."

Nathan moved both hands as if holding invisible weapons.

"If an enemy reaches me, I won’t always have enough space to use the bow properly."

Cain nodded as he knew that the Talent was not useless.

Nathan’s weakness had always been close combat. Windstep allowed him to create distance, but there would eventually be enemies fast enough to follow him.

Two daggers would allow him to defend himself without abandoning his mobility.

Unfortunately, they did not possess a matching pair.

Cain looked at the Orbs.

"Open them."

"What about the Scrolls?" Elara asked.

"I’ll keep them for now."

Scrolls granted compatible Skills or Talents. Using one carelessly could waste the opportunity on someone who did not need it.

Equipment was easier to distribute.

Elara crushed the first Blue Orb.

Blue light gathered around her hand before forming a silver longsword.

[Silverwind Sword - Rare-rank]

[Strength +10]

[Agility +10]

[A light Rare-rank sword possessing excellent balance and sharpness.]

There was no elemental effect. Even so, the stat increase was excellent.

Elara tested the balance with a short swing.

She then looked toward the Frostveil Sword in Cain’s hand.

"You can use this one."

Cain understood what she meant.

She wanted to take back the Frostveil Sword and give him the Silverwind Sword.

"No."

"Why?"

Cain lifted the Frostveil Sword and examined its blade.

Several thin cracks had appeared near the pale blue patterns.

The damage was difficult to notice without careful inspection, but Faultline Vision revealed how far the weaknesses had spread through the metal.

The weapon had suffered while Cain forced Ruin Dragon Force through it during the fight.

Ruin energy strengthened his weapons, but it also placed a destructive burden upon materials that could not withstand it.

The Frostveil Sword had endured more than Cain expected and he knew that it wouldn’t be long before the sword broke in his hand because of the Ruin Dragon Force.

"This sword is already damaged."

Elara stepped closer, then her expression changed when she noticed the cracks.

"Was it damaged by the Tyrant?"

"Partly."

Cain scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

"But mostly because I pushed too much by using my skill into it."

Elara blinked her eyes.

Cough!

"Sorry." Cain coughed and asked for a pardon.

Her expression softened.

"It’s fine."

She then gave his original sword back to him in case the Frostveil broke away later on.

Cain accepted the sword.

He now had the damaged Frostveil Sword for stronger enemies and the Blacksteel Longsword as a replacement.

Elara attached the Silverwind Sword to her waist.

Ron opened the second Blue Orb.

A pair of heavy black gloves appeared.

[Titanstrike Gloves - Rare-rank]

[Strength +15]

[Physique +5]

[Reinforced combat gloves capable of enduring powerful impacts while greatly increasing the force behind unarmed attacks.]

Ron looked at the gloves before looking at his spear.

"These are completely useless to me."

Jack extended his hand.

"Give them to me."

Ron held the silence for two seconds before handing over the gloves.

"Fine."

Jack removed his damaged Impact Gloves and equipped the new pair.

The material adjusted around his hands.

He clenched one fist as the increased Strength entered his body at once.

A satisfied smile appeared on his face.

"These are much better."

Cain stored the old Impact Gloves.

They then opened the seven Green Orbs afterward.

The rewards were far less impressive, so Cain did not waste time studying every detail.