Investing in My Harem in the Apocalypse Makes Me Stronger

The problem had always been control.

The farther True Ruin moved away from Cain’s body, the more unstable it became.

He had already proven that the energy could separate from him completely, but maintaining its structure after doing so was far more difficult.

There had always been the potential for a proper ranged attack.

What Cain lacked was a reliable way to compress and release True Ruin without having it destabilize shortly after leaving his control.

Now, the System had finally given him exactly that.

Cain turned toward a large dark stone several meters away and raised his right hand.

True Ruin gathered inside his palm instead of merely covering its surface.

The energy compressed rapidly as Cain continued forcing more into the same point. The pressure became increasingly violent, yet his newly Perfected Ruin Mana Core kept everything firmly under control.

Cain could immediately feel the difference.

Before, concentrating this much True Ruin for a ranged attack would have demanded far more effort.

Now, the compressed energy remained completely stable.

Cain pulled his arm back slightly before striking forward with an open palm.

BOOM!

A violent blast of dark-gray True Ruin erupted from his palm.

The attack crossed the distance instantly and smashed into the stone with tremendous force.

The front of the massive rock shattered on impact.

Broken chunks were blasted backward as a deep crater appeared where the palm attack had struck.

But the damage did not end there as the True Ruin surged deeper through the fractured stone.

Dark-gray energy spread from the crater as the surrounding material rapidly deteriorated. Cracks widened under the combined destructive force of the attack and True Ruin’s corrosive properties.

Another large section suddenly broke apart and collapsed onto the ground.

By the time the remaining energy faded, more than half of the massive stone had been destroyed.

Part of it had been shattered directly by the force of Ruin Eruption, while the area surrounding the impact had crumbled into dark powder after being consumed by True Ruin.

Everyone stared at the result.

Cain slowly lowered his hand as a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

”Now that’s more like it.”

The Perfected Ruin Mana Core continued rotating steadily inside his chest, producing True Ruin with a level of stability and responsiveness he had never possessed before.

More importantly, Ruin Eruption had solved one of the most obvious weaknesses in the way Cain currently used his Element.

Until now, nearly all of his strongest True Ruin attacks required him to physically reach his opponent.

Ruin Dragon Force strengthened his body and weapons tremendously, while Partial Dragon Manifestation allowed him to extend True Ruin beyond his claws. But ultimately, he still needed to get close enough to strike.

That limitation had become increasingly noticeable as the enemies he faced grew stronger.

Ruin Eruption changed that as he could now compress True Ruin inside any selected part of his body and release it directly at range.

And judging from what had just happened to the stone, the destructive power was anything but weak.

His gaze shifted toward the road ahead.

They still had not reached the Southern Anchor Gate.

According to the 1st Echelon zombie they had interrogated earlier, one of the Zombie Race’s 3rd Echelon commanders had recently gone toward the Gate because some kind of problem had occurred there.

Cain still had no idea what that problem was.

He also had no idea how strong the commander would be.

”Let’s move.”

Ron was still staring at the ruined stone.

”You aren’t going to explain what the fuck that was?”

”Just think of it as me obtaining a ranged attack Skill,” Cain replied before starting to run north along the road.

Ron rolled his eyes at the vague answer.

”Of course.”

The others immediately picked up their pace and followed.

Behind them, the abandoned Zombie Race camp gradually disappeared among the ruins.

Ahead, the road toward the Southern Anchor Gate continued beneath the fractured crimson sky.

The broken road stretched across the black-gray terrain ahead. Pieces of ruined structures occasionally appeared beside it, half-buried beneath the soil or cut apart by old spatial distortions.

Far above them, the crimson sky remained fractured by the same enormous black cracks they had seen since entering the Corridor.

Cain stayed near the front with Nathan.

His newly Perfected Ruin Mana Core rotated steadily inside his chest, continuously refining True Ruin while he familiarized himself with the subtle changes brought by the breakthrough.

Suddenly, the System’s voice sounded inside his mind.

Everyone slowed slightly as a translucent screen appeared before their eyes.

At that exact moment, countless similar screens appeared across Earth.

Whether someone was hiding inside a ruined apartment or fighting for their life somewhere far from civilization, every surviving Awakener received the same announcement.

[World Announcement.]

[The first player to successfully advance to the Second Echelon has appeared.]

[The name ”Heavenly Demon” shall be recorded in the history of this World.]

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

Cain’s steps slowed for a moment.

”He already advanced?”

Ron looked toward him.

”That Heavenly Demon guy again?”

”Yeah.”

Cain continued staring at the announcement even after the others had begun moving again.

Heavenly Demon had been the first person in the world to advance to the 1st Echelon.

Now he had claimed the first advancement to the 2nd Echelon as well.

Cain was genuinely surprised this time.

Reaching the required Level was one thing.

The Core was another matter entirely.

After experiencing the process himself, Cain understood how ridiculous the amount of energy required to bring a Mana Core all the way to the Perfected Stage could become.

His own progression had consumed numerous Cores, followed by thirty purified Zombie Blood Crystals and additional resources taken from the others.

Even then, he had barely crossed the final threshold.

Cain did not believe someone capable of reaching the 2nd Echelon would quickly willingly advance with an inferior quality as the stage of the Core was directly connected to future development.

Anyone strong enough to become the first 2nd Echelon Awakener in the world should understand that much.

Which meant Heavenly Demon had most likely completed his Mana Core progression as well.

”Interesting...”

Cain’s lips curved slightly.

That bastard was moving fast.

He did not know what opportunities Heavenly Demon had encountered since the apocalypse began, but the fact that he had already reached the next Echelon was still surprising.

His eyes moved toward the final line.

A Cyan Scroll.

A Cyan Orb.

The rewards were far too valuable to ignore.

Cain immediately felt his previous relaxed mood disappear as he felt the urge to reach level 50 as quickly as possible.

Even if the reward for becoming the second person to advance was probably only the Cyan Orb, reaching the next Echelon itself would already provide an enormous increase in strength.

And there was no better place to gain Levels than the Invasion Corridor, since everything killed here provided double Experience.

Cain increased his pace.

The others noticed immediately and accelerated with him.

Ron glanced sideways and chuckled.

”That announcement actually got to you, huh?”

”Ron.”

Cain looked at Ron as he continued, ”Shut up.”

”Yes, sir!” Ron immediately shut his mouth, knowing that continuing to bicker with Cain when he became serious would do him no good.