Investing in My Harem in the Apocalypse Makes Me Stronger

[Ding! You have killed a Level 100 3rd Echelon, the Youngest Prince of the Zombie Race.]

[Ding! You have obtained Strength +15, Agility +13, Physique +12, Sense +10, Mana +15, and Magic +15.]

[World-Class Mission Zone Bonus applied. Experience and Rewards gained: 200%. All direct System rewards obtained from the kill have been doubled.]

Cain’s eyes remained fixed on the notifications as another series immediately appeared beneath them.

[Ding! You have leveled up to Level 56, obtaining 12 Free Stat Points.]

[Ding! You have leveled up to Level 57, obtaining 12 Free Stat Points.]

[Ding! You have leveled up to Level 58, obtaining 12 Free Stat Points.]

[Ding! You have leveled up to Level 59, obtaining 12 Free Stat Points.]

[Ding! You have leveled up to Level 60, obtaining 12 Free Stat Points.]

…

Cain’s exhausted expression gradually disappeared as he read through the notifications.

Fifteen Levels.

Even after everything he had experienced inside the Invasion Corridor, seeing his Level jump from 55 all the way to 70 from a single kill was still enough to surprise him.

Then his attention shifted back toward the first few notifications.

The Level increase was enormous, but what caught his attention even more was the additional Stats he had received directly from killing Serath.

Cain raised an eyebrow.

“Interesting…”

Based on his previous experience, the system would not normally award him additional Stats when a higher-level enemy was killed through a group effort, as he had seen the difference enough times by now to recognize the pattern.

A faint smile appeared on Cain’s face as he dismissed the earlier notifications and opened his status.

[Free Stat Points: 180]

[Stats]: Strength: 1,613 (+3,286) / Agility: 1,613 (+4,335) / Physique: 1,151 (+5,820) / Sense: 980 (+985) / Mana: 2,060 (+12,360) / Magic: 1,670 (+10,020)

Cain slowly looked through the numbers.

A satisfied smile appeared on his face.

The fifteen consecutive Levels had strengthened every one of his base Stats considerably, but his attention naturally lingered on his Mana and Magic.

His current abilities consumed absurd quantities of Mana.

Primordial Beast Projection alone placed a heavy burden on his reserves, and Purgatory Sun Manifestation became even more demanding whenever he continuously supplied additional Mana to increase its amplification.

The number of Purgatory Solar Lances he had been throwing around during the battle only made the problem more obvious.

His Mana reserve was already enormous because of the Purgatory Origin Body, so increasing his base Mana further was certainly useful.

However, Cain still preferred Magic.

The stronger his Magic became, the greater the destructive power he could extract from the enormous Mana reserve he already possessed.

There was no reason to change what had been working.

Cain immediately placed all 180 Free Stat Points into Magic.

The number changed before his eyes.

[Free Stat Points: 0]

[Stats]: Strength: 1,613 (+3,286) / Agility: 1,613 (+4,335) / Physique: 1,151 (+5,820) / Sense: 980 (+985) / Mana: 2,060 (+12,360) / Magic: 1,850 (+11,100)

Cain stared at his Magic Stat for several seconds.

1,850 base Magic.

With the additional bonus provided by his Talents, the actual amount of power he could release through his Mana had become ridiculous for someone who had only recently entered the 2nd Echelon.

His smile widened slightly.

“Not bad.”

Cain closed the status panel.

Only then did the exhaustion from the battle become difficult to ignore again.

His body had already recovered considerably because of Evelyne’s healing and Undying God Body, yet healing injuries did not erase the fatigue accumulated from continuously pushing his abilities beyond their comfortable output.

The muscles throughout his body felt heavy, and his Mana reserves had been repeatedly drained before being hastily replenished through absorbed Cores.

Even his concentration felt worn down after controlling so many lances throughout the battle.

Cain opened his Inventory.

Instead of taking out another Core, potion, or anything remotely useful for battle, a cold fizzy drink appeared in his hand.

He opened it.

Psssh!

The sound seemed strangely ordinary after everything that had happened.

Cain brought the drink to his mouth and took a long sip.

The cold liquid immediately felt refreshing as it passed down his throat, and Cain released a satisfied breath afterward.

“Much better.”

For the first time since entering the final battle against Serath, Cain properly looked around without searching for an incoming attack.

The surrounding area barely resembled the Central Base they had entered earlier.

Large sections of the nearby streets had collapsed beneath the repeated clashes between 3rd Echelons.

Buildings that had once lined the avenue were now missing entire walls, with others reduced to piles of rubble after taking the aftermath of their attacks.

Scorch marks covered large sections of the ground where Black Sun Dragon Flame and Purgatory Flame had burned against each other.

Deep fractures spread through the streets from the physical clashes that had taken place, and several portions of the area were still covered in thin layers of ice left behind by Elara’s attacks.

Cain’s gaze eventually moved toward the others.

Mo Xuanye was already sitting on a broken section of stone with one arm resting loosely over his knee.

His breathing was noticeably heavier than usual, and the Heavenly Demon Qi surrounding him had completely disappeared now that there was no longer any reason to maintain it.

Ron had simply sat down on the ground.

His spear rested beside him as he leaned backward against a large piece of rubble, taking deep breaths while staring blankly toward the destroyed battlefield.

Aurelia was nearby, her sword lying across her lap while she recovered. Her golden hair had partially come loose during the fight, and several sections of her clothes were damaged from the repeated shockwaves that had swept across the area.

Elara had also stopped moving and was resting not far from them.

Even Sonya, who had joined the battle much later than everyone else after completing her advancement, looked exhausted after forcing so much Solar Fire through the three Suns she had manifested.

None of them seemed interested in doing anything for the moment as they had won.

After fighting through the entire Invasion Corridor and destroying all four Spatial Anchors before storming the Central Base, the strongest enemy standing between them and the World Gate Core was finally dead.

Cain watched them for several seconds before chuckling lightly.

They looked terrible.

Then again, he probably did not look much better.

Cain raised the can and finished what remained of the fizzy drink before tossing the empty container back into his Inventory.

His attention shifted toward the crater where Serath’s corpse remained.

Several faint red lights had appeared around it.

Cain’s exhaustion disappeared from his thoughts almost immediately.

“Oh?”

His eyes lit up.

He had been too occupied with the flood of System notifications to notice them earlier.

Cain began walking toward the crater.

Ron noticed him moving and raised his head.

“Where are you going?”

Cain pointed toward Serath’s corpse.

“Naturally, collecting the loot.”

Ron immediately sat straighter.

That single word seemed to restore part of his energy.

Even Mo Xuanye opened his eyes again.

Cain chuckled when he noticed their reactions but continued toward the crater without waiting for anyone else.

He reached the edge and jumped down.

Serath’s corpse remained in the position where it had fallen. The final attack had destroyed most of the dark armor covering him, leaving the heavily damaged Dragon scales beneath exposed.

Even in death, the body of the Youngest Prince looked considerably different from that of the ordinary Zombie Race members Cain had killed throughout the Invasion Corridor.

His Imperial Dragon Transformation had not completely disappeared.

Several dark scales still covered parts of his body, and the curved horns remained visible above his head. The armored tail that had caused Cain and the others so much trouble lay motionless against the shattered ground.

Cain stared at him briefly.

A few minutes earlier, this bastard had been threatening to destroy their entire world.

Now he was lying dead at Cain’s feet.

Cain bent down and grabbed Serath’s corpse before moving it aside.

The red lights underneath immediately became visible.

His eyes widened slightly when he saw two Red Scrolls and Red Orbs lying among the shattered stone.

For a moment, Cain simply stared at the loot.

Then a broad smile appeared on his face.

“Now that’s more like it.”

Two Red Scrolls from a single kill.

Cain had expected the Youngest Prince to drop something valuable considering his identity and strength, but seeing two items of that rank still left him extremely satisfied.

There was also no telling what the Orbs could contain.

Serath had a Level 100 Peak 3rd Echelon existence with two Origin-rank Talents and several Divine-rank Talents.

More importantly, he was a direct member of the Zombie Race’s royal family.

If there was ever an enemy whose Orbs could contain something ridiculous, it was probably this bastard.

Cain did not open anything yet.

There was no reason to do it alone when everyone else was already waiting nearby.

He picked up the two Red Scrolls and stored them inside his Inventory before doing the same with the Orbs.

Cain then climbed back out of the crater.

By the time he returned, most of the others had already gathered near the edge and were watching him with obvious curiosity.

Cain looked at their expressions and smiled.

(STOP READING HERE AND PLEASE READ THIS ANNOUNCEMENT FIRST. IT’S IMPORTANT.)

Hello guys, so yeah…

For the past four days, my body has completely dropped because of the worst fever I’ve ever experienced in my life.

The last two days were especially bad. I couldn’t even sit properly, and my whole body felt like it was burning from the inside. Like, literally…

I even had to go to the hospital twice, yesterday and today.

(I’ll drop the pictures in this paragraph or in the chapter comments.)

I honestly can’t talk much right now since I’m writing this while having a headache, and at the moment I can barely write, let alone properly edit my chapters.

I’ll fix this chapter as soon as I can and will try my best to get things done by tomorrow.

Also, don’t worry about the bonus chapters I still owe you guys. I’ve already taken note of all of them, and I’ll upload them early next month.

On another note, because everything has been such a mess recently, I’ll be lowering the Privilege price.