Investing in My Harem in the Apocalypse Makes Me Stronger

The silver crown still rested on her head, its pale-blue crystals contrasting against her white-red hair as faint Frost energy continuously gathered around its surface.

Several meters away, Elara was still carrying the staff.

Cain stared at the two women for a moment.

Apparently, despite both of them agreeing that exchanging the equipment was the obvious solution, neither had actually done it yet.

Cain shook his head helplessly.

’Whatever.’

They could deal with it later.

Ron walked beside him with his spear resting across one shoulder.

Unlike Cain, he had absolutely no intention of hiding the fact that something had changed.

Tiny arcs of bluish-white Lightning occasionally crawled across his arms before disappearing beneath his sleeves.

His chin was raised slightly, and the smug expression on his face was already becoming irritating.

Jack was the first to notice.

His gaze settled on the electricity flickering around Ron’s body.

”What happened to you?”

Ron’s smile widened.

”Well...”

Cain immediately knew what was coming.

Ron adjusted the spear resting on his shoulder.

”You could say I’ve become a completely different—”

Cain walked past him and placed one hand over his mouth.

”Mmph?!”

He pushed Ron several steps backward.

”We’re leaving now.”

Ron immediately ripped Cain’s hand away.

”You bastard, let me finish!”

”Shut up, you can brag later on.”

”I only said one sentence!”

”That’s already more than enough.”

Several people nearby laughed.

Ron glared at Cain, but there was nothing he could do except curse him inwardly for destroying his first opportunity to properly show off.

Cain ignored him and looked toward the vehicles.

”We’ll check the park first.”

His voice immediately changed the atmosphere.

The joking expressions around them faded as everyone knew which park he meant.

That was where the Zombie King had appeared.

More importantly, the strange spatial crack was still there.

Cain had originally intended to inspect it after dealing with the Zombie King, but the aftermath of the battle and their advancement had delayed him.

He had no intention of leaving the city while something that dangerous remained unexplained behind them.

The group entered their vehicles shortly afterward.

Cain chose one of the pickup trucks near the front of the convoy.

Alex drove, while Cain climbed into the open bed with Ron, Nathan, and Jack.

The engine growled as the pickup began moving.

Several vehicles followed behind them at a distance, although Cain had no intention of bringing everyone directly toward the spatial crack. Most of the group would remain outside the park until they understood what they were dealing with.

The streets between the intersection and the western park were relatively clear compared to earlier.

The Zombie King’s horde had drawn an enormous number of infected toward the previous battlefield, leaving most of the surrounding roads almost empty.

A few zombies still wandered between abandoned vehicles.

Nathan handled most of them without anyone needing to leave the truck.

Whenever an infected creature blocked the road, he drew the bowstring and released the arrow.

A green arrow flashed through the air.

The zombie dropped before the pickup reached it.

Nathan barely moved between shots. Wind Mana gathered naturally around the bow, reducing the effort required to fire while his enhanced control allowed every arrow to strike exactly where he intended.

Cain rested against the side of the truck and watched the ruined buildings pass.

Ron sat across from him.

He coughed once, but nobody reacted.

Several seconds passed.

Ron coughed again.

Jack glanced at him briefly before looking away.

Nathan continued watching the road ahead.

Cain already knew exactly what the bastard was doing.

Another cough came.

Jack finally frowned.

”Are you sick?”

”No.”

Ron straightened slightly.

”I was just thinking that you guys probably noticed something different about me.”

Jack looked at the faint Lightning flickering around Ron’s arm.

”Obviously.”

Ron smiled.

”Right? So here’s what happened...”

Cain turned his head away.

He had made a mistake.

Giving Ron a Red Scroll had definitely been the correct decision.

However, giving Ron abilities he could brag about might not have been the correct one.

Ron quickly began explaining how much faster he had become, carefully avoiding revealing the exact rank of his Talent while making absolutely certain everyone understood that the improvement was enormous.

Nathan listened with occasional interest.

Jack responded when Ron started describing his new spear skill.

That only encouraged him further.

Cain stared at the ruined buildings passing beside the truck.

’I underestimated his shamelessness.’

He had known Ron would brag.

But he just had not expected the man to force the conversation after everyone deliberately ignored him.

Fortunately, the trip did not last long enough for Ron to explain every detail.

Several minutes later, the western park appeared ahead.

The pickup slowed.

Cain immediately straightened his back.

Evidence of the previous battle remained everywhere.

Several trees had been broken or uprooted completely. Sections of the walking path had been destroyed by the Zombie King’s attacks, while deep cracks spread through the ground where tremendous force had struck earlier.

Zombie corpses remained scattered throughout the outer areas.

The smell had already worsened.

Cain jumped down before the vehicle fully stopped.

Ron followed along.

Nathan climbed out with his bow in hand, while Jack landed heavily beside them.

Alex shut off the engine and stepped out last.

Cain looked toward the rest of the convoy.

”Wait here.”

Elara had already opened the door of another vehicle.

Cain shook his head.

”Stay here, we’re only going to check it for a second.”

She hesitated before nodding obediently.

Cain turned toward the park.

The five men entered together.

The farther they moved inward, the quieter the surroundings became.

Most of the zombies that had once occupied the park had either been killed during the battle or drawn toward the intersection afterward.

Broken branches covered the grass, while several corpse fragments remained near the path where the Zombie King had torn through the area while chasing Cain.

Ron gradually became quieter as they approached the center.

Even he stopped talking about his new talent.