Investing in My Harem in the Apocalypse Makes Me Stronger

Sonya’s eyes immediately brightened.

”Mine’s completed too.”

Cain pointed toward Nathan.

”Go sit near him.”

Sonya nodded obediently.

She looked at the burned corpse one final time before moving away from the battlefield and sitting several meters from Nathan.

The Fire Mana inside her Perfected Core had already begun reacting to the completed mission.

Only one disabled commander remained.

Alex was already standing in front of it.

The Zombie Race soldier slowly raised its head.

Its gaze first moved toward Cain, then toward the enormous greatsword resting in Alex’s hands.

Its expression immediately became grim.

Unlike Nathan’s arrow or Sonya’s fire, there was nothing complicated about what Alex intended to do.

Alex looked down at the soldier.

A wide smile appeared on his face as he raised the greatsword with both hands.

”Nothing personal.”

The zombie stared at him for a moment, then it cursed loudly.

Alex’s smile widened as he swung the greatsword downward.

BANG!

The greatsword crashed into its skull.

The head was crushed against the dark ground, leaving a deep fracture around the point of impact.

Alex pulled the blade free.

His Advancement Mission completed immediately.

Cain looked toward the rest of the battlefield.

Most of the 1st Echelon soldiers had already been dealt with.

Ron had disabled several without killing them, allowing Cole and Maya to finish the ones they needed.

Jack was standing over another corpse.

Elara’s sword left a pale trail of frost as she dealt with the last soldier attempting to retreat.

Within moments, the fighting ended completely.

The outpost fell silent.

Nathan was the first among the three advancing Awakeners to show a change as Green Wind began circulating around his body.

The Perfected Wind Mana Core within his chest accelerated.

Its stable structure compressed under the force of the advancement until the accumulated Mana reached a point it could no longer maintain.

The familiar Core Metamorphosis began.

The green Core broke down and reconstructed itself at a higher level.

Wind spread across the battlefield.

Nathan’s clothing fluttered despite the still air around everyone else.

The bow lying across his legs began humming softly in response.

A faint seal within the weapon loosened as its wielder crossed into a higher Echelon, but Nathan paid no attention to the new information yet.

His focus remained entirely on the transformation inside his body.

The pressure increased.

After a few moments, everything finally settled.

[Core Metamorphosis completed.]

[Wind Mana Core has advanced to the 2nd Echelon.]

[Core Stage: Newly Formed.]

[You have successfully advanced to the 2nd Echelon.]

Nathan slowly opened his eyes, Green light passed through his eyes.

Cain could tell the difference without needing to see Nathan’s status as his Mana had become denser.

More importantly, the increase in physical ability from the Perfected foundation was enough to alter even the way Nathan stood.

Golden light appeared across everyone’s vision.

[World Announcement.]

[The 28th player to successfully advance to the 2nd Echelon has appeared.]

[The name ”Emerald Gale” shall be recorded in the history of this World.]

[Emerald Gale has received a Green Scroll and a Green Orb.]

Nathan looked at the announcement.

”Twenty-eighth.”

Ron walked over.

”Could’ve been higher if you were faster.”

Nathan looked at him calmly.

”You merely advanced ten minutes earlier.”

”Still earlier than you.” Ron shrugged with a smug.

Cain smacked the back of Ron’s head.

”Stop bragging and annoy everyone.”

”What the fuck?”

Ron turned around with a twitched expression.

Cain ignored him as he shifted his attention toward Sonya.

Sonya’s silver-white hair lifted as crimson-gold Fire Mana spread around her body.

The miniature Sun floating above her head immediately became brighter, its light intensifying together with the rapidly increasing pressure coming from her Perfected Fire Mana Core.

Inside her chest, the Core had already begun its metamorphosis.

The dense Fire Mana accumulated within it compressed repeatedly before its internal structure started changing completely, transforming into a foundation capable of containing energy belonging to the 2nd Echelon.

Heat rolled outward in increasingly powerful waves.

The temperature around Sonya rose so quickly that the black-gray ground beneath her gradually turned red in several places.

Elara casually released a layer of Ice Mana around herself and the people standing nearby, preventing the heat from becoming uncomfortable.

Evelyne simply moved farther away.

Cain remained where he stood.

His physique was already high enough that the temperature caused little more than warmth against his skin.

More importantly, his attention was focused entirely on Sonya.

The Fire Mana surrounding her was changing.

Its quantity was increasing, but the difference went far beyond that.

The energy itself felt denser than before, while Sonya’s connection with the miniature Sun above her continued strengthening as the Core reconstructed itself.

Then Cain noticed something unusual.

Another source of heat had appeared inside her body.

His golden pupils narrowed slightly.

Sonya currently possessed several dormant Suns within her constitution, but until now only the first one had successfully manifested.

One of the remaining dormant Suns had begun reacting to the advancement.

At first, the reaction was faint as a small concentration of Fire Mana gathered somewhere deep within Sonya’s body, almost completely hidden beneath the enormous amount of energy being released by her Mana Core.

However, it quickly became stronger.

The first manifested Sun above her trembled, its crimson-gold flames flared outward before contracting again.

At the same time, the dormant Sun began absorbing the Fire Mana produced during the Core Metamorphosis.

More and more energy disappeared into it.

Sonya’s eyebrows tightened.

She could clearly feel that something else was happening, but controlling the advancement alone already required most of her attention.

She did not attempt to interfere.

Cain watched quietly.

The concentrated heat within her body continued growing until even Elara noticed the change.

’Another one is about to appear.’ Cain thought to himself.

A second pulse of Fire Mana erupted from Sonya.

WHOOM!

The flames around her suddenly surged several meters higher.

The ground beneath her feet cracked as crimson-gold light escaped from the openings.

Above Sonya, the first miniature Sun moved slightly to the side.

Then a second sphere of light began forming beside it.

It started as nothing more than a small point of crimson-gold flame.

The surrounding Fire Mana immediately rushed toward it.

The point expanded.

Within seconds, another miniature Sun had fully manifested above Sonya.

It was slightly smaller and dimmer than the first, but the energy contained within it was unmistakable.

Two miniature Suns now floated behind her.

Their radiance overlapped, causing the heat surrounding Sonya to rise considerably once again.

Elara strengthened the Ice Mana around the others.

Sonya’s first Sun had already given her an enormous advantage as a Fire Mage.

Now there were two.

More importantly, Cain knew there were still other dormant Suns remaining within her body.

If each major advancement could awaken another one, then Sonya’s future combat power would become increasingly ridiculous.

The two Suns slowly rotated around one another while the Core Metamorphosis approached its final stage.

Fire Mana continued flowing through Sonya’s body before returning toward the newly reconstructed Core.

The unstable pressure gradually disappeared.

Her breathing became calm again.

Then the violent energy surrounding her suddenly stabilized as both miniature Suns stopped trembling and their flames became steady.

A powerful pulse spread from Sonya’s body before fading into the surrounding air.

The System notifications finally appeared.

[Core Metamorphosis completed.]