Morning came quietly. Which, in this world, was always a little suspicious — especially when zombie corpses disintegrated into dust and left behind marble-sized stones.
Nathan stood at the edge of his base, arms crossed, staring at the section of wall he'd mentally marked for improvement. Sunlight poured over him — warm, bright, and mildly annoying when you didn't have anything resembling proper shade.
"…Alright," he muttered. "Time to fix that."
What followed could generously be described as 'construction.' Or more accurately — system-assisted cheating disguised as construction.
Nathan started by placing several three-meter-tall wooden pillars along one side of the wall, evenly spaced and positioned just right to support a roof structure. Neither hammer nor measuring tape were needed.
He simply stretched his hand and thought it into place. Wood materialized from his palm, forming clean, solid pillars exactly where he needed them.
"…This still feels illegal," he murmured.
Once the supports were in place, he extended the roof structure over them. Again — no actual building process. Everything just clicked into existence.
The wood formed seamlessly, slotting together like reality itself had decided to cooperate.
Though when it came to placing the sloped roof, he still had to climb up to properly position the planks so rainwater could flow off properly, just in case.
About half an hour later, he stepped back, hands on his hips.
"…Done."
A functional shaded area now covered part of the wall, casting a comfortable shadow across the platform.
Nathan nodded in satisfaction.
"Maybe I could start a construction company with this…" he muttered.
• × • × • × •
The next project was far more important.
Clothes.
Actual, wearable, not-embarrassing clothes.
After last night's questionable… resource acquisition expedition, Nathan had gathered enough material to test out the Mana-enchanted Clothing recipes.
Turns out — as long as zombie clothes were removed before dawn, they didn't disintegrate with their body.
Which raised several questions. But Nathan chose not to ask them. Instead, he opened the crafting menu and got to work.
The result?
A simple white button-up shirt.
A pair of black trousers.
And a sleek, black shoulder-robe — because why not.
"…That's it?" he turned slightly, inspecting the fabric.
Sadly, there's no glowing, SSR-rarity-like aura.
"…I was expecting something more… RPG-like," he admitted. "Like… Defense +10 or something."
Nothing.
But the description did say they were more resistant to tearing — which, given his current lifestyle…
"…Still, that's actually useful."
Nathan stepped into the small changing room he had built earlier and swapped outfits.
Immediately, the difference hit.
No more ragged sleeves.
No more 'escaped hospital patient' aesthetic.
"…Finally," he exhaled. "I look like a functional human being again."
Absolutely worth it.
Natsu had been watching the entire process. And eventually, her curiosity won.
"…Can you make girls' clothes too?"
Nathan glanced at her, a slow grin forming. "…I thought you didn't want to wear something made from zombie garments?"
Natsu hesitated. Then looked away slightly.
"…I didn't expect it to look that… normal."
"…Fair enough."
A brief pause.
Then, quieter, she added. "…Also… this outfit isn't very comfortable. Especially… around the chest area."
Nathan blinked.
He glanced at the butler-style outfit — clearly not designed with woman's anatomy in mind — then immediately looked away.
"…Got it. What kind of outfit do you want? We have variety of options."
"As long as it's something girls like to wear… anything is fine."
No further commentary was made. Because some lines didn't need to be crossed.
Thankfully, the crafting recipe that costs him twenty SC includes more than just simple man and woman outerwears — it also covered undergarments.
Which meant Nathan could solve the problem without turning it into a conversation.
He crafted what was needed, along with something he thought would work — a knee-length, white summer dress with slightly frilled skirt.
Why?
Nathan's taste.
"…Here," he said, handing them over.
Natsu accepted them without hesitation.
There's no dramatic, anime-like reaction where the heroine blushed over undergarments-related moment.
She simply nodded. Then she stepped into the changing room.
…Huh.
He watched her go.
"…Guess she's more practical than I thought," he muttered.
A moment later, she stepped out.
And Nathan's brain immediately crashed mid-loading. Before him stood a familiar figure—
Yet not.
The same big, white fox ears.
The same fluffy tail.
But now framed by a light summer dress that fit her perfectly.
The fabric flowed naturally, swayed slightly by the gentle breeze. It shaped her silhouette just enough without restricting movement. The straps rested lightly on her exposed shoulders — nothing improper, the fabric covered enough for decency.
The dress didn't account for her tail — which now slipped down naturally from under the skirt, swaying gently.
And somehow, that made it even better.
Nathan's brain attempted to process the visual.
And failed completely.
"…It's been a long while since I wore something like this," Natsu said, adjusting the hem slightly. "It feels nice… and somewhat liberating."
She shifted her weight.
"I can move more freely," she added, glancing at him. "…So? How do I look?"
Nathan didn't answer immediately. Instead, he looked up at the sky with a solemn expression.
Then, with a small voice—
"I-can-now-die-in-peace out of ten."
She smiled weirdly. "…What does that even mean?"
He looked back at her, forcing composure. "…It means you look good."
Natsu studied him.
"Is that so?" she nodded once. "…Then that's good."
And just like that — she accepted it.
Nathan, meanwhile, turned slightly away.
Too good, actually.
He glanced back up the sky.
O great Lunarinas, help me…
…I'm lovestruck.
• × • × • × •
Days passed.
Then more days.
Time moved quietly — or as quietly as it could in a world where the dead showed up every night to ruin your evening.
But strangely… it felt peaceful.
Each night brought waves of zombies.
Walkers. Runners. The occasional Jumper breaking physics again. And thankfully, the Creeper's yet to make another surprise cameo.
Each night, the threats were handled efficiently — almost casually — from atop their now six-meter-tall base.
Yes.
Six meters (19'6").
Because Nathan had resumed wood harvesting carefully.
Very carefully.
After learning that Ironwood only became valuable for a dragon past a certain age and size, it should be safe if he stuck strictly to smaller trees — even though neither him nor Natsu knew the tree exact appearance.
No more dragon-related trauma.
He had harvested enough to reinforce and elevate the entire structure.
Now, even Jumpers couldn't reach them. Which significantly improved their life expectancy. And oddly enough — the nightly battles became… enjoyable.
For Nathan — who had stuck inside a hospital room for years.
And for Natsu — who had spent most of her life suffering under her slaver cruel treatment.
This strange, dangerous routine felt like something between survival and liberation.
A twisted kind of peace.
And honestly for them, blowing zombie heads off from a safe distance was a pretty good form of entertainment.
• × • × • × •
Eventually, something new appeared.
A D-Rank, beast-type monster — a Stone-Breaker Bovine.
"…That's new," Nathan muttered.
The creature was massive — larger than an adult African buffalo. Dark brown, heavily muscular, with a single long horn that looked more like a weapon than anatomy.
It charged forward, crushing Walker corpses under its hooves.
And when it hit the wall—
*THOOM!!*
The structure shook. Wood creaked under the impact. But of course, it'll took a lot more than a muscular bovine with a horn to trample the structure down.
Its horn drove nearly a meter (3.3 ft) deep into the wall.
Nathan blinked. "…That's a little concerning."
The bovine struggled, pulling backward, trying to free itself.
It failed spectacularly. Because it had effectively impaled itself.
Nathan stared. "…Is it stuck?"
The creature thrashed, snorted, pulled—
But nothing worked.
Natsu glanced at him. "…Should we… help it?"
"…Yeah," Nathan said, raising his handgun. "By putting it out of its misery."
A few shots later—
The beast went still.
Just like that, the threat ended. Nathan leaned against the railing, looking down.
He chuckled. "It really just… did that to itself… that's honestly kind of impressive. And also very anticlimactic."
• × • × • × •
When dawn came, the corpse vanished like all the others. But this time, It left something behind.
A clean slab of red meat sitting on a neatly trimmed pelt.
Nathan stared.
"…Well." He crossed his arms. "…I thought you said a beast-type monster's body won't disappeared at dawn?"
"Did I really said their body?" Natsu tilted her head. "What I meant to say was their meat."
"Either way." She added. "I'm glad we have something to eat other than fish."
"Is that thing really edible?"
"I can guarantee." She replied. "People even said it's better than regular cow meat."
"Oh, wow. Isn't that exiting…" Nathan said flatly.
He decided to stop questioning how this world functioning. Because apparently, it's running on game logic.
Perfectly processed loot — no effort required.
And he wasn't complaining.
He sighed, shaking his head. "…This world can't get any more ridiculous."