Investing in My Harem in the Apocalypse Makes Me Stronger

He raised one hand and circulated a small amount of energy toward his palm.

Dark gray energy immediately appeared around his fingers.

At first glance, it looked almost identical to the Ruin he had been using before. However, Cain could clearly feel the difference.

The energy was denser and far easier to control.

Previously, pushing Ruin Dragon Force too aggressively often caused the destructive energy to strain his body along with whatever he was attacking.

Now, the True Ruin energy remained surprisingly stable around his hand despite feeling noticeably more dangerous.

Cain smiled in satisfaction.

The increase in destructive power was already useful enough, but the improved stability interested him just as much.

With Undying God Body allowing him to endure increasingly reckless outputs, better control over True Ruin meant he could push Ruin Dragon Force even harder without wasting as much energy or damaging himself unnecessarily.

His gaze then shifted toward the newly awakened Skill.

[Partial Dragon Manifestation]

[Allows the user to partially manifest physical characteristics of the Primordial Chaos Dragon. Manifested areas gain greatly increased Strength, durability, Ruin resistance, and compatibility with Ruin Dragon Force.]

[The extent and strength of the manifestation increase as the user advances through the Echelons.]

Cain stared at the description for a moment before his smile widened.

”So I can finally borrow more than just its energy...”

The Skill immediately gave him several ideas.

If he manifested part of the Primordial Chaos Dragon’s characteristics around his arms before using Ruin Dragon Force, the combination should greatly increase both the power he could release and the amount of strain his body could endure.

Even more importantly, the manifested areas possessed greater Ruin resistance.

That meant Cain might finally be able to push Ruin Dragon Force beyond the limits he had been forced to respect until now.

Cain clenched his fist in excitement.

He could not resist testing it anymore as he immediately used his (Partial Dragon Manifestation) skill.

The moment Cain activated the Skill, something deep within his body responded.

A heavy pulse spread from his chest before rushing toward his right shoulder.

Cain immediately stopped walking as Dark gray energy gathered beneath the skin of his arm, but instead of simply coating it like Ruin Dragon Force, the change went much deeper.

His fingers tightened involuntarily.

The skin along his right hand darkened first.

Small black scales emerged across the back of his hand before rapidly spreading toward his wrist.

They overlapped tightly against each other, forming a layer that looked far harder than any armor Cain had worn before.

His fingers gradually extended.

The nails thickened before extending into curved black claws several centimeters long. Their surfaces carried a faint metallic sheen, while thin lines of dark gray energy occasionally moved between the scales.

The transformation continued upward.

The muscles in Cain’s forearm expanded slightly beneath the scales, becoming denser without making the arm look excessively large.

The black scales eventually stopped slightly below his elbow, leaving the rest of his body unchanged.

Cain slowly raised his transformed hand in front of his face.

He opened and closed the claws several times.

The sensation was strange as they did not feel like something attached to his body.

Cain could move every claw as naturally as his own fingers, and the scaled arm felt considerably stronger than before.

Even without circulating additional energy through it, he could already sense the enormous difference in durability.

”What the fuck...”

Cain turned his head.

Ron had stopped several meters away, his eyes were fixed on Cain’s transformed arm.

For once, the guy seemed genuinely speechless.

Ron slowly pointed toward the black scales.

”Don’t tell me you might eventually turn into a dragon...”

His gaze moved from Cain’s arm toward the rest of his body as he continued with a gulp, ”Or even summon that dragon inside you.”

Even he seemed to realize how ridiculous the words sounded after saying them aloud.

However, considering everything that had happened since the apocalypse descended, Ron could no longer dismiss something simply because it sounded impossible.

Zombies had appeared.

People had obtained superpowers and could increase their physical abilities by killing them.

Cain had just been announced to the entire Universe after killing a creature two Echelons above himself.

Logic clearly did not carry the same authority it once had.

Cain looked at his transformed hand before laughing.

”Who knows?”

Ron stared at him. ”You don’t know?”

”How the hell would I know?” Cain shrugged. ”I only just obtained this Skill.”

Ron rolled his eyes at such an answer.

On the other hand, Cain looked toward one of the nearby buildings.

”Let’s stop for a bit.”

Ron’s expression immediately became suspicious.

”What are you planning now?”

”I want to test this.”

Cain walked toward the damaged wall beside the road.

It belonged to a small shop whose front windows had already shattered during the chaos. Several cracks ran across the concrete exterior, but most of the wall remained intact.

Cain raised his right arm, then he simply dragged his claws across the concrete without even pouring any True Ruin energy.

Scrrrk!

Ron’s eyebrows rose.

Cain barely felt any resistance when he did it, but four deep lines appeared across the wall as pieces of concrete broke away beneath his claws.

He raised an eyebrow as he looked at the damage.

”Huh?”

Cain pressed his fingers deeper and tightened his grip around the edge of the damaged section.

Crack!

A large chunk of concrete broke free.

Cain held it for a moment before crushing it between his claws.

Fragments fell between his fingers.

His smile widened.

The increase in raw strength was obvious, but the claws themselves were just as impressive.

Cain could already imagine what would happen if he used them against the flesh of an evolved zombie.

Then another thought entered his mind as he remembered something as important as his newest skill.

True Ruin Element.

Dark gray energy flowed from his Mana Core.

Cain guided it toward his transformed arm.

The reaction was instant as True Ruin energy spread across the black scales far more smoothly than it ever had across his normal skin.

The energy settled between the scales instead of straining the flesh beneath them.

Cain’s eyes lit up.

”So that’s what increased compatibility means...”

He pushed a little more energy into the arm.

The True Ruin gathered around his fingers.

Instead of remaining as a thin coating, the energy extended beyond the physical claws.

Five dark gray blades gradually formed from their tips.

Each one added several centimeters to the reach of Cain’s hand.

Ron took another step backward unknowingly.

”You know what? I suddenly don’t want to stand near you anymore.”

Cain ignored him as he moved his fingers experimentally. The extended claws followed every movement perfectly.

Cain stepped toward the wall again and slashed.

Shhk!

The True Ruin claws passed through the concrete before his physical claws even reached it.

Five deep cuts appeared across the surface.

The edges immediately began deteriorating as the destructive energy remained within the damaged material.

Cain became even more interested, he pulled his arm backward and swung again, this time putting more strength into the motion.

Something unexpected happened as the True Ruin covering his claws stretched outward.

A dark gray crescent briefly separated from his hand and traveled a meter through the air before becoming unstable and dispersing.