Night fell again, bringing with it a steady dimming of light until the forest shifted from 'mildly survivable' to 'actively plotting your demise.'
And this time, Nathan stepped outside the safety of his wall.
"…I can't believe I'm doing this," he muttered under his breath, dried leaves crunching softly beneath his feet as he landed on the ground.
Behind him, the wooden structure stood tall — his so-called fortress.
In front of him — darkness, trees, and the occasional distant groan that really sold the whole you should not be here atmosphere.
Yep. This is a terrible idea.
And yet—
"I need new clothes," he said flatly, as if that justified everything.
Because apparently, the path to survival now included robbing zombies for fabric scraps. A completely normal life progression.
"Don't worry," Natsu said from behind him, hopping down with far more grace than he did, sword already in hand. "I'll watch your back."
Nathan glanced at her. "…That doesn't make my decision feel any less insane."
"Because you are insane."
Still, he exhaled, rolling his shoulders slightly. Before coming down here, he'd taken precautions. Namely — dumping the rest of his SP into Agility.
[Agility: 2.1 → 4.1]
His body felt lighter, his movements comes smoother, and his reaction time seemed sharper.
Not as doubled as the number suggested — but enough to say—
Yeah. I'm faster now.
Still nowhere near Runner-level. But progress was progress.
One day, he thought, narrowing his eyes at the dark tree line, I'm going to outrun those things.
A small, dangerous grin formed.
I'll make them question their entire identity.
"…You're smiling weirdly again," Natsu said.
"…I'm setting goals."
A rustling sound cut through the air, and a Walker stumbled out from between the trees.
Then another.
And another.
Nathan raised his handgun.
Alright. Back to work.
The first few kills were routine.
Trigger pulled.
Headshot.
Another pull.
Another one down.
Walkers weren't fast. Not particularly dangerous, on their own.
Nathan lowered his gun slightly, scanning. "Clear."
"For now," Natsu corrected, stepping forward, blade angled casually at her side.
Another Walker approached, and nathan dispatched it without issue.
He exhaled.
"…Alright," he muttered, flexing his fingers. "Time for the weird part."
Natsu tilted her head. "Weird part…?"
Nathan didn't answer immediately. Instead, he crouched beside a corpse and placed a hand on its shoulder.
"…Don't think about it," he whispered to himself. "This is resource gathering — Store."
The ragged shirt vanished from the zombie's body.
Natsu blinked. "…You literally just robbed it."
"…I prefer the term efficient recycling."
"You're stealing clothes from dead zombies…" She gave him a look. "…I'm not wearing anything you made from that."
"Just you wait. I'll make you eat those words."
"Do your worst."
Nathan sighed.
This is my life now. Doing scavenger-hunt on zombie invested forest.
He checked his Storage.
A new category had appeared.
[Rag Storage: +0.3 m²]
"…Huh."
It measured in surface area, neither like scrap metal nor wood does.
That was… oddly specific. And slightly confusing.
Another Walker approached — this one with a partially intact shirt.
Nathan quickly dispatched it before walked over its corpe.
"…Sorry," he muttered, placing a hand on it. "You won't be needing this."
Stored.
[Rag Storage: +0.5 m²]
"…Okay, this is working smoothly."
Natsu watched with unreadable expression. "…This still feels wrong."
"…You stabbed more than fifty of them last night."
"But I'm not robbing them."
Nathan chose not to argue, because she had a point. There was something uniquely unsettling about stripping zombies for materials.
"…Wait." he froze mid-motion.
Natsu raised a brow. "…What?"
Nathan stared at the body in front of him. "…They're… smooth."
"…What?"
"…There's nothing there."
Natsu blinked. "…What do you mean?"
Nathan gestured vaguely downward.
"…I mean there's nothing down there."
She blinked before following his gaze. "…Oh."
"…Yeah. 'Oh.'"
"…They're… genderless." Natsu smiled weirdly.
"…Apparently."
"…If I never met you, I would've never learned this completely useless fact."
"Do not call a scientific discovery 'useless.'" Nathan exhaled in relief. "…At least that makes this process slightly less mortifying."
"Only slightly?"
"Only slightly."
Still—
Thank Lunarinas.
Because dealing with zombie's dangling… 'anatomy' was not a mental hurdle he wanted tonight — or possibly ever.
After several more… transactions — Nathan finally stood, stretching his back.
"…Alright," he muttered. "That's enough dignity theft for one night."
[Rag Storage: 11.4 m²]
Not bad. Not bad at all.
Natsu lowered her sword. "…So we're heading back?"
"Yeah," Nathan nodded. "Before something stronger decides we look snackable."
"Good call."
They climbed back up to the safety of the wall.
Nathan exhaled as his feet hit wood again. "…Home sweet questionable fortress."
"You named it?"
"…Not officially."
"…Maybe you should."
"…Then let's call it 'Nathan × Natsu's Love Nest' for simplicity's sake."
"Uhh…"
• × • × • × •
The moment they were back at the top — Natsu's mood visibly shifted.
"So," she said, already reaching for her new weapon. "Can I test it now?"
Nathan smirked. "…Be my guest."
She raised her hand, and her SMG appeared instantly.
A Walker shuffled into view.
This time, she chose a closer target — no sight upgrade yet, because Nathan's currently broke — so instinct over precision.
She steadied her stance. "Amber."
The air shifted. That same compressed tension gathered around her grip.
Nathan leaned forward slightly.
Let's see how it perform in action.
*Pfst—!*
The suppressed shot rang out.
The Walker's head snapped back—
And detonated.
A fiery explosion of gore and zombie-ly fragments scattered outward as the body collapsed instantly.
Natsu exhaled, lowering the gun. "…That felt really good."
Nathan stared.
Yep, this confirms not to let her fire in full auto.
But seriously… that looked exactly like a zombie-game headshot effect.
I'm not jealous. I am not jealous at all!
"…That's amazing," he admitted.
"Yes. It is."
Another Walker approached.
She fired again.
Same gory explosion.
Instant kill.
Nathan crossed his arms, thinking.
…From an efficiency standpoint…
4.6mm rounds were cheaper. If she could one-shot Walkers with that—
…It's better to let her handle most of the F-rank ones.
But of course, there was a problem.
Nathan leaned against the railing, watching as Natsu casually erased another Walker from existence.
"…Yeah, that's great and all," he muttered, "but if she kills everything… I don't get any EXP."
And that was the catch. Letting her handle everything was resource-efficient, but terrible for his long-term existence. Because he wouldn't level up. And in a world where everything wanted to kill him — that was a bad plan.
"…Alright," he decided to compromise quietly.
"I'll take the E-rank ones," he muttered to himself. "and let her handle the rest."
E-rank gave ten EXP. Walkers only gave one.
Not even close.
Efficiency and growth — he need to balance both.
"…Hey." Nathan glanced toward her. "Quick question."
She lowered her gun slightly. "…What?"
"How many of those enchanted shots can you fire before you run out of mana?"
Natsu paused, thinking, her gaze drifted upward. "…Hmm."
"…Maybe twenty… thirty?" she said. "Each shot uses quite a lot."
Nathan nodded.
Yeah… makes sense.
He gestured toward the headless corpse. "…Because from what I'm seeing, that's surely an overkill."
"…Fair point."
"So," Nathan continued, "can you… tone it down a bit?"
She glanced at the weapon. "…Lower my skill output?"
"Yeah. Just enough to kill them. No need to turn every Walker into fireworks."
"…I can try."
• × • × • × •
"…I think I got it."
After several attempts — most of which ended in explosive overkill — Natsu steadied herself.
"Amber."
She fired.
The Walker staggered—
Then dropped.
No epic explosion this time. Just a faint wisp of smoke.
Nathan nodded. "…That looks controlled."
"I think so."
She lowered the weapon slightly, thinking. "…At this level… I can probably push it past sixty shots before running out of mana."
Nathan's brows lifted.
"…That's a huge improvement."
"But…" she hesitated. "It's a lot less satisfying to be honest."
"I have to agree with that."
Then his expression shifted.
"Still, don't burn through your mana recklessly," he added. "Keep some in reserve."
Personal experience, he added inwardly.
Because running out of mana mid-fight wasn't felt so good.
"…I know."
Her tone had that very specific 'I've already know that, you don't have to tell me' energy.
"I'm serious," he insisted.
"I said I know."
Nathan raised both hands. "…Just saying."
She shot him a look — then turned back to shooting. "…You worry too much."
And you don't worry enough.
Nathan narrowed his eyes slightly. Something still bothering him.
…How much mana does she actually have?
Because earlier today — when he borrowed half for crafting — she didn't even flinch. That wasn't normal, at least for Nathan's standard.
"…I wish I could see her stats," he muttered.
Then paused.
Wait.
…Can I?
He opened the Hunter's Pact tab, and mentally tapped her name.
—————————————
Name: Miyuki Natsukawa (Nine-tailed Fox)
Class: Spellblade
Level: 14 — EXP: 1811/4500
Condition: Fine
HP: 164/164 | Stamina: 161/164 | Mana: 244/360
———
Vitality: 16.4
Strength: 17.8
Agility: 19.2
Magic: 36.0
Dexterity: 17.8
———
Skill:
Amber (Lv.4) | Frost (Lv.1) | Shock (Lv.1)
—————————————
Nathan stared.
Then stared harder.
…Holy—
Every stats were double digits. Her Magic stat made his looks minuscule in comparison.
He leaned in slightly.
…And what do you mean Nine-tailed Fox?
I only saw one!