DungeonLove

[HOTD] Chapter 75 – Military Base

After a short exchange, we rode back into our vehicle, and followed the soldiers to their base. It was pretty surprising there were only 5 of them on a big vehicle like that, considering it was supposed to fit 10 or so people.

Our journey back to their base was quiet. Everyone seemed to relax a bit, feeling safer with the US soldiers around us.

The trip took a little over an hour and half, during which time I kept glancing around in caution.

Naturally, I didn't trust people I just met or didn't know. Those I knew from the game, I was cautious with them, and I had a hunch about their character. But those I never knew about were dangerous. They were unpredictable, especially because they might be connected with Umbrella in the future.

After driving up the steep slope of a mountain range, we arrived at an isolated military base built in the middle of a forest, surrounded by barbed wire fences and sandbags. 3 tents were erected outside the fence, and 3 guards stood guard at each corner.

There was a watchtower in each direction of the compass, with 4 armed guards patrolling around it. 2 machine guns were mounted on top of the tower. There were a couple of humvees parked next to the gate, along with an armored personnel carrier. All of them looked well-maintained.

However, the size was too small to call it a main base. It might be an outpost to protect a nearby main base or city.

The armored truck stopped right before entering the base and we also stopped. Sergeant Brown

exited the truck, headed towards me, and said, "This place isn't exactly safe yet but we're doing our best. So please leave all your weapons here, and don't make any sudden move."

He pointed at the tent outside, most probably the checkpoint.

Leaving our weapons? That meant we had to enter an unknown military base while being naked.

I couldn't risk it, so I countered, "I will enter alone and put the weapon in a humvee and have the others to stand guard. Is that acceptable?"

Sergeant Brown frowned and asked, "Is that necessary?"

"If I can get a guarantee of safety, I don't need to do that. However, I have been in some... situations before. Please understand my position too. Also, do you think they can be any danger to the US army?"

Sergeant Brown was silent for a few seconds. Then, he nodded and replied, "Alright. I'll talk with General Mason first."

With that said, Sergeant Brown walked inside, accompanied by Corporal Williams.

Private Clark was still in the truck, keeping an eye on us. He looked bored though, and I thought he might not be very good at his job.

Anyway, I was now left with the girls and two soldiers. The atmosphere between both parties was pretty tense, as we didn't trust each other yet.

"I wonder what this General Mason looks like..." Saya said softly. "Hopefully, someone who understands the importance of the sample. If he's only a bit like Papa, then that would be great."

I nodded in agreement.

We needed to be careful here.

After all, we weren't dealing with random people anymore. They were military and they had guns and authority.

A moment later, the sergeant returned, saying that we were cleared to go in.

So, I told the girls to wait with all our equipment inside the humvee except for Saeko's sword. She would be able to protect themselves in case of an emergency.

After that, I followed him into the base.

As soon as I entered the camp, I saw several men and women walking around, some wearing uniforms while others dressed in civilian clothing. There was even a young woman wearing full gear holding an M16 rifle.

There were also some soldiers in their uniforms, standing guard near certain areas or just lounging about. Most of them had rifles or pistols strapped to their belts. A few were smoking.

Some of these soldiers were quite tall, standing around 180 cm.

I prided myself for being tall with no one taller than me in Japan, but I had to accept that I wasn't the tallest in this world. Especially in the West.

We were walking towards a large tent where a general waited for us. Sergeant Brown told me what I shouldn't do and how I should greet the general.

Apparently, he wasn't very pleased to meet us. It wasn't unexpected, since I said that I brought an unknown virus sample, and even asked for a helicopter to Chicago, a city far away from Alaska.

We finally reached the general's office, and Sergeant Brown stopped me outside. "I will leave you alone, but remember not to act rudely."

"Please don't worry about that." I assured him with a smile.

After I answered, he opened the door and ushered me inside the tent. The first thing that caught my eye was the old, bald-headed man sitting at a table with several papers strewn across its surface.

He wore a uniform that bore the rank insignia of a general. He looked stern and intimidating.

"Come in." The old man beckoned me to come forward.

I approached his desk and looked around, wondering if I had to sit somewhere. But yeah, we were talking about military tents, so there was no seat at all. Just a bunch of papers and documents.

"I am Major General John Mason, commander of this base," He began, introducing himself. "What is your name and why are you here?" He said bluntly and in a very commanding voice, staring straight at me as he did so.

"Busujima Daiki, sir. I contacted the US army for shelter, bringing a virus sample with me. I need to bring this to Chicago to meet my contact, Minami Rika. Can you provide me with transportation there?" I replied respectfully, standing tall and proud.

The Major General was quiet for a few seconds. "Chicago? We haven't been in touch with them for 2 weeks. There is a big problem there."

"Problem? What problem?" I asked.

He raised an eyebrow at me and said, "Why should I answer that question? You're just a civilian. A Japanese, moreover. We have our secrets to keep."

He had a point there, so I said, "We know a lot of things. Maybe I can share that information if you tell me what is happening."

Hearing my answer, he narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

I could feel a tense silence between us, a thickening aura of hostility. If this was a movie, this would be where the suspenseful music would start playing.

So I continued, "Before arriving here, I found 2 Umbrella Corp's underground labs."

[HOTD] Chapter 74 – Direct Contact With Army

"I know."

I already had them in my scope and just had to pull the trigger. But they moved in a zig-zag pattern with incredible speed, and even though I aimed my rifle at their heads, I wasn't confident I would hit them from 350 meters away.

So I waited.

"H-Hey, do something about that!"

Even when Saya's voice was laced with fear, I waited. My breathing went calm and slow as I aimed carefully at their head.

300 meters.

The car swayed and tilted, almost losing control.

"Kyaa!?"

200 meters.

I closed one of my eyes as the lickers were in my crosshair, ready to pull the trigger anytime.

100 meters.

The zombie dog jumped on its four limbs. It jumped higher than humans, reaching almost the height of a 2 story house.

50 meters.

I shot twice while controlling my breathing.

Bang! Bang!

I watched through the scope as I shot them both down with headshots. The bullets pierced their exposed brains, splattering bits everywhere before they died midair.

They fell limply to the ground with thuds.

"Huff~"

The rest of the group sighed in relief. Our humvee continued driving down the street without stopping.

I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

'I can't let myself get complacent,' I told myself, 'We don't know what's waiting for us next.'

This time, I could deal with them with two headshots, but they would get more troublesome if I missed them. And that meant my head would get ripped apart in seconds.

I stayed alert with my gun ready in case more Licker showed up. We continued our trip for another 20 minutes without any problems or encounters. 

It was like the earlier attack was just an accident, something that shouldn't happen. The car finally stopped at the edge of town, near a cliff overlooking the sea.

"There they are!"

Saya suddenly shouted excitedly as soon as Miss Shizuka parked her vehicle. She pointed her finger towards something far away.

There, we saw a dark green vehicle parked in a big clearing. The vehicle was bigger and bulkier than a humvee, and I guessed it was an armored truck.

Three men stood beside the truck, seemingly checking the area.

They had noticed us and one of them pointed in our direction. From their expression, it was clear they were wary about unidentified vehicles approaching.

"Get out of the car without holding weapons except the sword and knives. I will talk to them."

I told my group to get out of the car and approach them while making sure to keep our hands in view to show we weren't hostile.

We got out the humvee and approached them. They wore green uniforms, helmets, and body armor with weapons at the ready. Two of them had a handgun while one had an M16 rifle. They didn't aim their weapons at us, but we could see from the look in their eyes that they wouldn't take any chance.

I raised my hands above my head as soon as I stepped out.

"We're civilians from Japan, seeking shelter. I have contacted the US army under Busujima Daiki's name, bringing an important virus sample for research. Please, we mean you no harm. If possible, can you relay that info to the main base or Minami Rika?" I spoke up in a loud voice, throwing the identification card I prepared in advance.

He looked surprised when he read my card before glancing over his shoulder at another soldier and nodding slightly.

Then he turned his attention back to us. He asked in fluent English, "So you guys are really Japanese?"

"Yes, we have lost communication with your army base a few days ago before reaching Alaska. Can we get in contact with them now?"

"Sorry, I am only a sergeant, but we will contact our base to confirm. Don't make a funny move." He said, gesturing to his subordinate behind him.

Taking the order, he nodded and whispered something to his walkie talkie before listening intently. He communicated with the main base and after a few minutes of silence, the man nodded and whispered something to the sergeant.

"Is that so?" He turned to me, looking curious and said, "You have the virus sample? Can I see it?"

"I put it in a safe place, hidden somewhere only I know. If you request a helicopter to take us to Chicago, we will bring it with us."

I wouldn't naively show that Las Plaga parasite to him. Umbrella had men in the army. I didn't trust them.

"Chicago?" He asked in confusion.

"Yes. Isn't that the place where you guys build the shelter? A safe haven in this chaotic world? A special force called Minami Rika will vouch for us if you contact them."

The sergeant frowned at this, scratching his chin. He then said, "I don't have that information, and we are not allowed to disclose such sensitive matters. Please wait for a while. I will convey that message to the main base and see if there is anything I can do for you."

This time, he didn't ask his subordinate, instead, he walked to the truck and contacted his base through a radio inside. A minute later, he walked back and gave us the answer we wanted to hear.

"You can ride with us to the main camp. The general wants to talk with you."

I smiled at hearing those words, "Thank you. We appreciate it very much."

The sergeant gave me a friendly grin before motioning towards his men, who quickly went into their vehicles.

"We're leaving! Our patrol is done!"

The other two soldiers nodded and followed suit, climbing into the backseat of their own vehicle.

The three soldiers introduced themselves as Sergeant Brown, Corporal Williams, and Private Clark. Two more joined after they returned from their so-called patrol.

We didn't know anything else about these guys besides that they were from the US army, and that we could trust them enough not to kill us right away.

[HOTD] Chapter 73 – Licker

The sun rose pretty late in the morning, around 7 o'clock. Saeko and Saya had already gone downstairs, probably preparing breakfast.

Meanwhile, Miss Shizuka slept beside me, her soft breath caressing my neck. Her naked body was pressed against mine under a thick blanket, sharing warmth and comfort despite cold weather outside.

Her beautiful face was adorned by messy bed hair, which made her seem younger than she truly was.

I slowly got out of bed and put on my clothes and jacket. After I dressed up, I went downstairs and heard the sound of cooking. Nice aroma drifted through the air as I approached the kitchen.

There, Saeko cooked soup while Saya set the table.

"Good morning, brother."

"Good morning."

I greeted them back with a nod and a smile. "Good morning. It smells so good. Are we having fresh ingredients today?"

"Unfortunately, no." Saeko turned off the stove and turned to me, "I just take a few canned goods from the house, but we're out of luck for the fresh ingredients. We don't even find a farm here."

"Ah, that's a shame."

I sighed. This city was probably not big enough for farming, which meant the city was probably supplied with food from another city.

"By the way, I heard a car outside this morning." Saya added, putting her finger on her chin in thought, "It drove away before I could check, so I didn't really know the type or who drove that."

"A car?" I asked, raising my eyebrows curiously.

"I also heard it," Saeko added, she put the pan on the table and took off her gloves, "It sounded a bit similar to our car but the engine is more... How do I say it, loud?"

Similar but louder than a humvee?

'Maybe it's a military vehicle. It would make sense if they want to check and confirm the destruction of yesterday's bombardment.'

This was a big chance for us to get a connection to the main army. If we missed this chance, maybe we had to travel to Chicago by ourselves, which would be a drag and dangerous without any plan.

I wanted to go there now, but it was too early. If the vehicle left already, we wouldn't be able to find them easily, especially because the engine sound could echo everywhere in this area.

And who knows if the zombies still linger around? I didn't want to put us in danger due to my impatience.

"I will wake Miss Shizuka up. She should have recovered by now, so I guess she can drive now."

***

After we had our breakfast, we packed everything into the humvee and went on the road again. This time, we were aiming for the direction the helicopter went. Saeko sat beside me on the back, while Miss Shizuka drove with Saya on shotgun.

The road was clear, so driving didn't prove too difficult.

"It seems like there was light snowfall last night, so it's easy to see the track of the vehicle that drove by earlier!" Miss Shizuka chirped excitedly as she drove the humvee.

"... In summer?" I asked in bewilderment.

Miss Shizuka shrugged, "I don't know! It's snowing though?" She glanced sideways towards white flakes that fell gently around us, "It's pretty~"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, teacher. Just focus on the road, please." Saya retorted in a voice full of annoyance, "It will be bad if we crash or something."

"Hehe, alrighty~" Miss Shizuka responded happily, smiling widely before turning back to focus on the road ahead.

The snow melted when the sun rose higher, making our travel smooth. Yet again, the zombies' corpses still scattered on the side of the road, most likely because of the military attack. Some zombies were moving around, but I didn't want to waste our time on them.

'Yesterday, there was no zombie, but it's now here. Thankfully we woke up and left early. Maybe they are attracted by the car's engine.' I thought in my head. 

If it were true, we should avoid using the humvee in populated areas in case of unwanted attention. I didn't want to be surrounded by them.

At the same time, I couldn't help but feel frustrated at how slow we went. It would take hours to reach wherever those military were, especially because we didn't know the road and our trail had disappeared.

When we reached a fork road, Miss Shizuka asked us where to go. Without a map, it was difficult to decide which way to go.

But luckily, we didn't need to guess.

"Should I just follow that?"

Miss Shizuka pointed at some zombie corpses. Judging from their conditions, they were freshly killed. I felt wrong saying it like that, but their bodies hadn't decayed like the others, only had holes on their heads.

I immediately understood what she was getting at, so I said, "They must've been killed by that vehicle that drove through the area earlier. We should be able to track them down by looking for similar traces along this road."

"Phew, I thought I was lost. Hehe."

"Miss Shizuka, can you please pay attention?" Saya complained with an exasperated expression, shaking her head in disapproval. "I swear you are such a scatterbrain sometimes!"

"I know I know! Sorry~" Miss Shizuka responded, "It won't happen again!"

She smiled cheerfully and winked at the younger girl sitting beside her.

While Saya seemed to complaint a lot, she kept our airheaded teacher in check. It was nice. Saeko was the best to accompany me and check our surroundings, so I had nothing to worry about.

"Alright, let's go." I ordered with a smile on my face as I leaned back into my seat. I could see that the road ahead would be clear without obstacles in front of us. That meant no more trouble ahead of us at least until the next intersection where we might encounter some problems.

Our humvee once again sped up, following the tire marks and zombie corpses on the street. We encountered a few zombies but Miss Shizuka didn't care at all and ran over them.

However, I suddenly heard a strange sound in the distance.

"...oof!"

"Hmm?" Saeko's ears perked up, her eyes narrowed in caution as she looked around. "What is that sound?"

I frowned, trying to figure out what the hell it was. I strained my ears and looked out of the humvee, looking around to find where the sound came from.

At that moment, I saw shadows. Two bipedal creatures running between trees, jumping around with superhuman speed. Their blurry shape looked similar to dogs with a short tail. 

Their long tongue dangling out from their mouth, with red eyes glinted ominously under sunlight. They growled loudly and barked like rabid beasts.

"Zombies!?" Miss Shizuka gasped in surprise and stopped the car, staring in horror as the zombie dog suddenly appeared from the forest beside us.

'Fuck, a Licker!' I shouted out loud, my mind racing to think of something quick.

They were the real cockroaches. One appeared, many would follow.

"Press the gas, now! We need to escape this area fast!" I immediately gave the order and opened the top hatch, "Now!"

The impatience in my voice startled her and she slammed the gas immediately, the car accelerated in no time.

Licker was one of the most dangerous and deadliest zombies in the series. A B.O.W, a Bio Organic Weapon. Leon encountered this creature in Resident Evil 2.

In that game, a single Licker was enough to kill Leon. And in the movie, it almost cornered Alice, the superhuman protagonist.

Its claws and fangs were sharp enough to shred metal doors, and its tongue could be shot from a long distance to strangle and grab prey. Moreover, they moved extremely fast, much more agile than the zombies we encountered before.

Their agility was unmatched by anything we ever faced until now.

"Brother, they are getting closer!" Saeko said worriedly, pointing behind me.

[HOTD] Chapter 72 – They Multiply Like a Cockroach!

Surprised, I quickly ran outside with Saeko, who reacted at the same time, to check the source of the explosion. I quickly jumped to the roof, grabbing the edge to pull myself up, and looked to where the helicopter went.

"Wh-what's that?" I muttered.

I saw multiple fireballs falling down to earth. It was a scene straight out of hell, a nightmare come true. Fire and smoke everywhere, rising up in huge pillars into the sky above us.

No, not just one, multiple.

One, two, three, and it continued. Five of them fell down in succession, spreading chaos wherever they went. The helicopter's bombardment continued for a few seconds, giving anything in that area a good riddance.

It seemed like they bombed the entire city. Why?

And the answer to my question was clear. Zombies. I could see from here, the huge number of them pouring from the distance, scattering in multiple directions.

"Get inside the house, quick!" I shouted loudly, desperation laced my words. I knew if the zombies reached this town, there wouldn't be a way to escape.

Saeko quickly entered the house. I followed her, slamming the door shut behind us.

"What is happening?" Miss Shizuka asked worriedly, fear written clearly on her face. Her body trembled slightly under stress caused by current circumstances.

"I don't know." I answered, taking a deep breath to calm myself. "Lock everything you can see and put a barricade in front of doors and windows. We will let those zombies pass by quietly while trying to contact the military. I will stay on the roof to see the situation."

Then I looked at my sister and gave her a nod, "Saeko, protect the house, okay?"

Saeko nodded, "Got it, brother!"

"Let's start!"

***

After checking every window, I made sure all doors leading outwards were securely fastened. We barricaded the front entrance and secured our house as much as we could.

Then I climbed to the roof through the second floor window, holding my M1A1 rifle and ready for the horde.

I could see dots running around in the distance, not exactly something I'd like to witness directly. I could guess what happened in those places, why the military bombed them like nothing.

I was wrong to say there were just a few zombies. 

The amount of zombies I saw were countless—like cockroaches. When you find one, then you should assume there were hundreds of them hiding. If they attacked this city, we would be wiped out easily. 

The only thing we could do for now was hide until they passed naturally.

'What happened there? Did a safe place suddenly get overrun?' I asked myself as I observed from afar. 'I don't get it. I have seen this shit from Resident Evil, but not this kind of shit.'

While I understood that Resident Evil hadn't covered all that happened in the world, I think it was too much to skip something like this.

I prayed that only a little bit of that zombies passed by here because the helicopters headed toward different directions. And as we all knew, zombies were attracted by sound, including the sound of the wind blowing from the mountain and waves crashing against the rock.

Our current position allowed us to get away from that sound.

Maybe God or a random omniscient being answered my prayer, but almost none of those zombies approached our location. They scattered to different directions, but the biggest number headed to where the military went.

I wondered what would happen if the helicopter went to where we were. Maybe being unable to contact the military was a blessing in disguise.

For hours, the zombies kept passing by like ants, running to their own direction without noticing our presence. The sky turned darker and darker until the moon rose high above the sky and everything went dark, leaving us only with light coming from a portable lamp I had with me.

Only after that I heaved a relieved sigh and relaxed my position. Tense muscles aching from being in the same stance for too long, but at least now there was nothing left of those abominations nearby. That meant we were safe again.

I climbed down to the second floor and met everyone on the way. I told them that the zombies had gone away and the danger was gone.

"Thank goodness..." Miss Shizuka muttered softly as tears began streaming down her cheeks. "I was scared when I heard the explosions.

Saeko patted Miss Shizuki's back comfortingly, saying "It's alright now. We survived."

We entered a bedroom where Saya sat down. She stared at us anxiously. "I've been trying to contact the US army all day, but still, nothing." She complained, frustration evident in her voice.

I frowned upon hearing this news, feeling somewhat disappointed in myself.

It had been a long day. Forcing her to try again would be torturing.

"Let's rest for today. I have seen where the helicopter went earlier, so we will aim for that direction. If my guess is right, they might have a temporary base set up around there. We can ask them to contact the main army and relay what happened."

Saya nodded understandingly. She stretched herself and moaned, "Hm~ That's a relief! Finally, some good news!"

I chuckled amusedly. Then, I patted her head and ruffled her hair. "You've done well, Saya."

"Stop treating me like a child!" She exclaimed while blushing.

"Okay okay, little miss."

"You!"

I laughed and hugged her, and she struggled to free herself.

"Argh, you're insufferable!" Saya pouted angrily.

"Owh, I know, but I just can't stop loving you." I smirked playfully, holding back a grin.

"You..." She sighed and rolled her eyes, "...you're such an idiot sometimes, y'know?"

I laughed again.

Idiot sometimes? I could live with that as long as that meant surviving and having fun without getting depressed over the apocalypse.

It was way better than staying tense like earlier. If I were surrounded by only serious individuals or those who only follow my word, I didn't think I would have the drive to push myself.

"Brother," Saeko interrupted. She tugged my sleeve, saying, "Let's have dinner and bath. I cooked something when you were scouting."

As if waiting for that moment, Saya's stomach growled loudly.

I turned my gaze towards Saya, who looked away with a flushed cheek, embarrassed. She must have been too focused to notice her hunger. "You need to take care of your body more, Saya."

"I know, I know. But the sooner we reconnect, the safer we will be." She reasoned with an irritated expression. "Anyway, food. I'm hungry!"

She stood up and walked downstairs, followed by Miss Shizuka. I trailed behind them with Saeko, chuckling lightly.

We ate quietly. There wasn't much to talk about, and everyone was tired after a long day.

Saya ate three portions of the simple canned soup with crackers. I couldn't believe it, this small petite girl was hungrier than me, the biggest guy in our group.

On the contrary, Miss Shizuka only ate a little. I couldn't help but stare at her breasts and thought, 'Where did those vitamins go to grow such a huge rack?'

Saeko elbowed me as if knowing what I thought, so I immediately stopped.

Relief came as we finished the meal. Our stomachs are filled. I was surprised to find that I wasn't really tired. Perhaps it was because my stamina had grown more than 35 now.

Anyway, the relief of passing another danger quickly turns into arousal. I noticed Saeko and Miss Shizuka grinned when they saw my tent, as if expecting the outcome.

Could it be; they spiked my meal with something? No way, right? I couldn't help but accuse them when Saeko quickly grabbed me and pulled me to the bedroom.

What happened next was a total sex marathon, with Saya watching the whole session and touching herself from the side before joining with a drenched pussy.

A cheeky girl—I really loved it.

Thinking of New Fanfic

I have a hard time writing Dungeon Maker System, it's so hard that I spend more than 2 hours to churn one chapter.

I am thinking of resting for a while from it and create a new fanfiction. What do you think will be good?

If you have any ideas, comment below. I plan to make this a system fanfiction, with an original MC entering the world as an anomaly.

[Dungeon] Chapter 70 – Setting Gacha

Meanwhile, Cain was watching everything that had happened in Floor 2-2 through the screen.

"Phew, I managed to avoid a crisis." Cain wiped his sweat from his face. He didn't expect the Sage to try to use his Summoning Jutsu.

Fortunately, the System blocked it, preventing anything unnecessary from happening. He fortunately had something in case of something like that.

When creating a dungeon, he didn't want a large creature to pop up and destroy the environment unintentionally.

Of course, if he wanted to create a giant dungeon in the future, he could do so. He only needed to deactivate the size rule and create an environment suitable for the summoned beings.

But that wasn't his plan. For now, at least. His plan was to create a challenging dungeon, not an unmanageable one.

"Still, they will come back with a better plan. However, where are the other people?! As expected, there is no one interested in a Rare Weapon without knowing what it is, right?"

Posting the lightsaber's image and description to the world, or at least to the Ninja World would attract more people.

However, it would also be the same with the Gacha System.

"I should make a decision." He mused as he stared at the blinking message window.

The Coins he got from the Ninja and the Devils had arrived. He got more than 9,000 from Frustration alone, netting him more than 12,000 Coins in one run.

It wasn't bad, and it wasn't too little. He had already reached the goal he had set in the first place, to earn more than 10,000 Coins. With this much money, he could make many items.

While waiting for his Coins to accumulate and the challengers to finish the dungeon, he actually wrote some ideas in a notebook. Many items, with their descriptions and their cost.

Not all of them would appear in his dungeon, and some would probably be thrown in the gacha.

With 26,000 Coins in his hand, Cain opened his system window and grinned wickedly, excited about plunging all his challengers into hell. He would also buy some dungeon entrances again and open his dungeon to the public.

Nothing stopped him now. Screw the danger.

It was time for him to take action.

"Let me see..."

Cain scrolled down the screen of the System Window, reading through the long list of items available for purchase. He wanted to make some adjustments to the dungeon. Some things needed to change.

He spent 5,000 Coins to buy 2 extra entrances, which meant he now had 3. Then, using the remaining 21,000, he decided to create items for gacha.

"Assistant, is the gacha system ready?" He asked his assistant.

[The system's backbone is ready. You can adjust the probability and the reward for the challengers to get the reward they desire.]

"Good. Then, how much do you think it should cost for a single spin?" He asked. He wanted to set a fair price for the people who would be spending their money on this system. After all, if they were spending real money on it, it was only fair for them to get something in return.

Dungeon Coin would be a really valuable thing if they have access to the gacha. Not only that, but they also could buy any item from his menu list, even the rare ones.

It was like a free market. He would be able to buy and sell things, even if they weren't from the same country.

"Is one gacha spin 1,000 Coins too expensive?" He asked the system, wondering about its opinion.

[Have you gone crazy, Master? No one has 1,000 Dungeon Coins yet. Rias Gremory and her group got less than 100 and the Ninja only got a little more.]

He grinned and rubbed his chin. "Hmm, I think 10 Dungeon Coins each draw would be more reasonable." Then, he added, "Let's set it at 10 Dungeon Coins for now. I don't want to scare people away by making it too expensive. We can lower or raise it later, once people start coming to my dungeon regularly."

[That's a good idea.] The System praised him.

Cain grinned and opened the gacha window, setting the Coins needed to spin the gacha and the rewards for the first time.

"Assistant, can we set that the challengers use the Dungeon Chat to store Coins? Put it in their balance, and then when they put the Coins inside, we can reuse those Coins for the item drop. That way I can limit the total Coins circulating outside the dungeon."

Cain thought about the idea and decided it would work well. He could save his Coins and recycled the Dungeon Coins in the Dungeon. Limiting the DC's supply, and keep it from inflating or deflating too quickly.

He also could use the Coins for anything, be it buying new equipment from the System's menu or something else entirely.

"Assistant, how does that sound? Doable?" He asked.

[It's possible. The inventory function can be unlocked with 1,000 Coins. The Chat can only put Dungeon Coin as Balance and not other items.]

"I need to pay for that?!"

'Capitalist! Capitalism! How could you do this to me?'

Cain was fuming in rage. Then, he sighed in defeat as he realized he couldn't change anything related to the system.

"Can I buy that function now?"

He asked the system, hoping that it would allow him to do that. He really needed that inventory function.

System replied with an affirmative answer, allowing him to purchase the function. That allowed him to continue with his plans without worrying too much.

'Well, at least it's not a scam or anything.' He thought, nodding to assure himself. Then he slammed his throne’s armrest hard. 'No, it's still a scam!'

He bought the Dungeon Coin inventory function for 1,000 Coins and decided to move on. He didn't want to think about the scam anymore.

He had spent 1,000 Coins on the inventory, so he still had 20,000 left.

For junk items for the lowest reward, he could always buy it from the Shop. Something like a bed or stuff worth less than 50 Coins.

However, he didn't want to put all the items in all rewards, it would look bad. No one would try the Gacha System at all if the reward was something like that.

'Let's put the Fire Sword I created before as one of the rewards. Let's see, 5% probability of appearing. And then I will create an Epic item for the top reward for now.'

That would make the gacha look appealing.

What kind of Epic item should he create? The answer was pretty simple.

"An accessory."

Everyone should be able to wear an accessory regardless of gender or specialty. The effect had to be simple, nothing too fancy or flashy, but something useful. After all, the most important thing about accessories was how useful it was in battle, not its appearance or its rarity.

"A ring with an effect to be able to block one attack. The activation method: The owner must say a password and the ring would automatically block the next incoming attack, regardless of what kind of attack. That's it, that should work. I can set it so it would need some recharge period to be able to be used again, so it's not too overpowered."

Giving a limitation to the item would allow him to create the item cheaper. He learned it when creating the Lightsaber, limiting its activation with a touch of a button. It actually cut 500 Coins from the initial cost, so it was a useful technique to use.

"Even so, it still cost me 3,000 Coins, huh?"

Still, he created the Ring with a 0.1% chance of being drawn.

"Hehehe, those who draw this will become the king of the world! Let's add that flavor text for fun."

The Ultra Rare and Rare reward had been chosen. Now he just had to fill the Uncommon with some weapons and armor, then the Commons with Rags and such.

He created a list of weapons and armors, from Swords to even spears.

And then he added one silver lining for the challengers. Pull 10x got a 10% discount!

What a kind dungeon maker he was. If he was hired as a game developer, the players must've praised him to no end!

'Hehehehe...'

Also, the gacha was only allowed inside the Hub so they could exchange the reward immediately to the Smart Goblin. He set the Dungeon Assistant to help with this matter. The System would help them to exchange the item, and then give it to them immediately after they showed the gacha result. It would be easier that way, instead of setting a 5,000 item transfer function.

Definitely not because Cain was stingy. It's not that.

"Let's try the Gacha System."

[HOTD] Chapter 71 – Boom Boom Boom!

Engine sound roared in the middle of the road. It was the end of July, but Alaska was cold, really cold. Based on what I learned online, the temperature was roughly 10 degrees Celsius on average at this time around the year.

Compared to winter in Tokyo that has around 4 degrees Celsius on average, the summer temperature in Alaska was only 10 degrees higher.

Frankly speaking, the place sucked, especially if we compared it to beaches in Japan. I wanted to return already.

And it was snowing here, adding to the shitty atmosphere in the middle of the zombie apocalypse.

Oh yeah, speaking about zombies, we found them a few meters from the harbor, walking around aimlessly like a lost kid. Most of them wore warm clothes and hats, which was probably protecting them from the cold environment.

A lot of them were children and adults, like the usual zombies. We decided to ignore them and drove toward the city area where we hopefully could find a working telephone or satellite phone.

The mountainous and snowy area didn't really help in our journey. Our humvee got caught in piles of snow multiple times. Sometimes Saeko and I had to push our vehicle until it freed itself.

The best thing about Alaska was that there were so few zombies and cars on the street were scarce. I had complicated feelings about that.

I preferred to go to a livelier place like a mall instead of an isolated area where there weren't people to talk to, or zombies to kill.

Which meant we shouldn't expect too much.

"We are already in the humvee for 3 days. I want some proper bath and bed to sleep..." Saya groaned.

Miss Shizuka nodded, adding her opinion. "Yes, I agree. Moreover, we should refill our gas, don't you think?" She glanced sideways towards the indicator reflecting near the empty fuel tank. "Otherwise our trip will end here sooner rather than later!"

"We still have 3L fuel, don't worry about that. Based on the sign I saw, there should be a city in 5 kilometers. We just need to go straight to this street and maybe we can find a shop there to get essential stuff." I reassured them.

Even so, I was also slightly worried. Our communication was still lost. Saya tried her best to reconnect with army forces, but unfortunately she couldn't reach anyone yet.

"Argh, it frustrates me! What the heck happened? Did we miss something important!? Damn it!"

We eventually arrived at what appeared to be a deserted town devoid of signs of life anywhere. Abandoned cars lined up neatly alongside streets while buildings seemingly untouched ever since the outbreak began.

Good news? We found a gas station, or at least a tank that used to fill up vehicles with gasoline and diesel fuel.

"Let's get new supply here." I said, jumping down from the humvee. "Sis, escort Saya and find a house that seems to be safe. Miss Shizuka and I will got some supplies here and then find you."

Saeko nodded her head firmly, "Got it."

Stepping out of the humvee, she helped Saya to bring the radio and find a good house. She brought a katana and the riot shotgun with her. Saya had a new revolver, and so were me and Miss Shizuka. The rest of the guns, 2 AK and our old revolvers, were stored safely in the humvee.

Miss Shizuka moved our car near the tank and began to check it. She had some difficulty operating the pump, but she soon beamed into a smile.

"There is still some gas here!"

"That's good! Fill the tank first then the container."

While waiting, I decided to scout the area.

There didn't seem to be much to see. Just a few stores nearby and several residential homes. Nothing looked out of ordinary or noteworthy at first glance. However, as I walked further along, something caught my eye.

"Hmm?"

Loud sounds of engine and rotor rang from the sky. Five military helicopters passed above our area.

"US army?" Miss Shizuka mumbled curiously from behind. "They didn't notice us?"

I doubted that they were here for us. Most probably something happened in the area where they had to use helicopters. At least there were people alive in the town, and the US army still existed. That was the only good thing about seeing them.

'If something did happen in that city, then I guess we need to prepare ourselves better.'

Whether an army moved, that something bad was 100% worse than what we experienced before. If they said that Salazar Castle was a hard mode, this one was lunatic difficulty.

Anyway, there was no choice. Let's go to where Saya and Saeko were.

"Is the gas full already?" I asked her.

"Yep, everything's good! Let's go~"

After refueling our ride, we went back inside and drove towards where Saya and Saeko were waiting for us. They seemed to find a good house, a sturdy looking brick house. At the moment, Saeko was in front of the gate. She was guarding the area from any threats nearby while Saya was inside.

I approached her and greeted. "How's the house, sis?"

She smiled sweetly and answered, "There are 2 bedrooms here, clean without any blood. The electricity has been cut off but we find fireplace so it should be fine. I have seen some wood in the warehouse. The fridge is empty, and the water isn't working."

"Well, I guessed that much." I shrugged after hearing her answer. "Did you also see the helicopter passing by earlier?"

"I did. Do you think there are survivors there?" Saeko questioned curiously as we continued walking up to the porch.

"Maybe. Let's try our luck." I said, looking at where the helicopter went earlier, "But let's rest for a night and try to get new info. We can use that radio to communicate and maybe get new updates."

After checking on Saya, I found her busy adjusting antenna and radio settings.

She glanced at us and grunted, "Ugh, why do you think they still haven't reached me? I've tried all possible frequencies already!"

"I don't know." I admitted. "Maybe they aren't listening."

"I hope that isn't true. If no one responds, we're screwed! I will try walkie talkie at the same time to double our luck. But, don't hope too much."

"Hmmm. Anyway, keep on trying, Saya. I am counting on you for this." I patted her head, and she swatted my hand away in irritation.

"I know what I need to do."

I chuckled lightly, amused by her attitude. "Just saying." Then I turned my attention back toward the others, "We're going to stay here overnight."

"Oooh, a nice warm place~" Miss Shizuka clapped her hands in happiness, "What should we do to spend our time~?" Her tone sounded really naughty and horny.

However, I wasn't really in the mood this time. Not after I saw those helicopters. I knew something was going to happen, so we needed to prepare ourselves better. We could play after securing safety first.

I wanted to explore and scout this place further, but it would be better if I did that with Saeko. I needed a strong and agile partner for scouting.

But at that moment...

Boom boom boom!

Something exploded many times in the distance.

[Dungeon] Chapter 69 – No Big Things Allowed

As the Sunagakure team tried to find a way out of the forest, Jiraiya, Naruto, and Shikamaru entered Floor 2-2 and found themselves in the same place.

It was a large, dark forest, with tall trees and no visible path. The sky above them was obscured by the tree's leaves, making it impossible to see.

On the left side, through the gaps of trees, a tall wall was visible in the distance. They could see a giant gate behind the wall, and a large building beyond that. A castle, standing tall and proud amidst the light, contrasting the darkness of the forest.

"A castle?" Jiraiya asked.

"It is." Shikamaru nodded. "Maybe that's our destination. We have to find a way to reach it."

"That looks so close! Let's run there." Naruto shouted.

"No, we shouldn't." Shikamaru shook his head, "We should be careful. We don't know anything about this place. If we're not cautious, we might get lost. And we can't just rely on your clones to get us out of that situation."

"Shikamaru is right." Jiraiya agreed. "Let's explore this forest first and see if we can find anything useful. That castle appears so eerie. Maybe there is a strong monster there, so we should be cautious."

"Fine." Naruto grumbled.

They began to walk forward, looking around them carefully. There were many bats flying around the forest, but they didn't seem to be interested in attacking them yet. They just flew past them, ignoring their presence.

"This place is really creepy." Shikamaru muttered. "The atmosphere is heavy and the trees are too tall. Not to mention, they are brittle. If we step on the branch I think it will break."

"Indeed." Jiraiya nodded. "It's like we're in a different world. This is not a normal forest. Something is definitely wrong here."

Naruto, who was walking in front of them, suddenly stopped.

"What's wrong, Naruto? Did you find anything?" Shikamaru asked.

He didn't reply immediately, but when he spoke, his voice was low and serious.

"I can hear something in the distance, a fighting noise. I think that Gaara and the others are still here, fighting against something."

"What? They're still here?" Shikamaru asked. "Are they fighting against monsters?"

"Probably, it sounds like a battle." He answered. "Let's go help them!"

"No." Jiraiya grabbed Naruto's shoulder and pulled him back, stopping him from running ahead. "We don't know what's happening. We shouldn't rush in blindly. Let's follow the sound slowly, but keep our distance."

Naruto frowned, but he didn't argue. "Okay. Let's go then."

They followed the sound, and after a while they found themselves in front of a river. Sand rose up from the river, forming a tsunami and swept away a group of bats, killing them.

"That's Gaara's sand." Shikamaru muttered, "They are still fighting the bats."

"Let's go help them." Naruto said. "They need our assistance."

"Wait." Jiraiya grabbed Naruto's arm and stopped him from moving. "Something is wrong here."

He looked around the area, trying to find out what was bothering him. Then, he saw it. When one bat got defeated, new one popped out from a tree. It was like the monsters were respawning."

"The bats keep on coming. We can't defeat them all." Shikamaru noted, "They will just keep on appearing. No matter how many of them we kill, it won't make a difference."

"But we can't just stand here and do nothing!" Naruto argued. "We have to help them!"

Jiraiya didn't say anything. He was thinking of a plan to get out of this situation.

'First of all, I have to stop those three from wasting their energy. They can't keep on fighting forever. We need to fight to escape.'

Deciding to help the trio, Jiraiya created hand seals and used his fire jutsu.

"Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu."

A large ball of fire appeared in his mouth and he shot it towards the bats. The flames quickly engulfed the monsters, killing a lot of them. However, the remaining ones managed to dodge and flew away, only to get replaced by a new one from the tree.

Seeing the large fireball, the three inside the battlefield turned and looked at them.

"Konohagakure?!"

"We're here to help. Let's run." Naruto jumped to the ground, joining the trio. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu! Hey, you bastards! Come at me!"

He created dozens of clones, ordering them to attack the bats. The clones immediately obeyed and charged at the bats. Jiraiya, Shikamaru, Gaara, Temari, and Kankurou followed suit, retreating from the battlefield together with the blonde.

As they ran, Temari explained to the newly arrived Ninja about the forest.

"There is an illusion in this forest. We can't run away from this place because we keep returning to where we started." She told them, "It's like we're trapped inside a maze."

"An illusion huh?" Shikamaru mused as he ran, looking around, "This forest is too large to be an illusion. And I can't feel any chakra. Maybe it's a Genjutsu, or a seal. The forest itself can be a trap."

"If it's the forest itself, then that shouldn't be a problem." Jiraiya said, "I marked my position when we entered the forest. I can use that to guide us back to the entrance gate. Follow me."

"Great! We can go back and rest." Naruto grinned, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

"Hey, idiot. Don't waste your chakra like that!" Shikamaru shouted, "There are too many bats here and your bunshin got obliterated just by one bite! One of them is even a poison type. If you keep on wasting your chakra, you will be useless later." He paused, "Troublesome."

"B-But, we need to hold them off." Naruto argued. "What should we do then? We can't just run away!"

"Don't worry, Naruto. I have a plan." Jiraiya said. "I will take care of them."

He stopped and turned around to face the incoming bats. Then, he made hand seals and used a summoning jutsu.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

Slamming his hand on the ground, Jiraiya expected a giant toad to answer his call. However, nothing happened.

'What? Why didn't my summoning jutsu work?' He thought, confused.

Jiraiya tried again, but the result was the same. Nothing happened.

Silence descended upon the group as they stared at Jiraiya in disbelief. Even the bats were confused.

Then, the perverted Sage ran at full speed.

"That didn't work, change of plan!" He shouted as he ran, "We're running away!"

"What? You're kidding me!" Naruto yelled.

"No time to joke. Let's go!" Shikamaru shouted as the bats chased after them.

As they ran, the bats continued to chase them, their numbers growing with each passing moment. Jiraiya and the others kept running, trying to outrun the bats.

"That's the sign!" Jiraiya shouted as he found a door-like sign carved on a tree. "We have to keep running straight, we will reach the entrance gate!"

"Damn, I can't feel my legs anymore!" Naruto shouted.

"Me too, this is so troublesome..." Shikamaru muttered.

They were getting tired, but they couldn't stop. The bats were still chasing them, and there was no time for rest.

Pushing themselves to the limit, they reached the door and left through it.

And then... They returned to the Hub.

"Huff... Huff..." Naruto was gasping for air, his body covered in sweat, "That was close..."

Shikamaru was panting heavily as well, "Yeah... That was a lot of bats..."

"So, we have to fight those bats if we want to reach that wall?" Temari asked, her heart beaten so fast from all the running. "Great. Just great."

"Maybe we can dodge all the bats and reach that wall?" Naruto said, "If we can do that, we will reach the wall."

"Don't be ridiculous, there is no way that can work. There are at least a thousand bats and we're just 6 people." Kankurou shot back in anger, "Also, why did you join us? Aren't you with the Chicken?"

"The Chicken ran away." Naruto groaned in frustration. "Jiraiya-sensei didn't even help me."

Jiraiya laughed at the scene before his face turned solemn, "We have another problem, however. My Summoning Jutsu didn't work at all. I don't think other similar Jutsu will work too. It's like something is preventing me from using them."

The others turned their heads toward the Sage, looking at him with surprise. Their expressions were grim. They were thinking of what this meant, what they were up against, and whether they could defeat it. They didn't know what to expect from the enemy they were going to face next, and that scared them. Even if it was an easy enemy, it didn't make the situation any less terrifying.

They knew how powerful their enemies could be, and they knew how dangerous this world could be.

Worry and fear filled their hearts as they realized that fact. Not all jutsus could be used in the dungeon and they didn't know the reason. Not to mention, the bats that could suck blood and used Wind Blade. It was like they were fighting humans, not monsters.

Seeing the younger generation go silent, Jiraiya grinned and clapped his hands. He wanted to raise the mood.

"It is fine, don't be afraid." The Sage spoke confidently, "It's not like everything is completely useless, we still have our chakra and normal jutsus. We just need to strategize and attack the dungeon once again."

Stopping, he looked at Gaara.

"We might need to discuss this between Konohagakure and Sunagakure officially. What should we do?"

Gaara nodded, "Yes, let's talk about it later. But first, I think we should return to our village. Kankurou is injured, and he needs medical treatment. Temari and I also need some rest before we can continue. Also, I don't think I have the stamina to deal with that again right now."

Jiraiya nodded, "Okay then. We will also return to report back to Hokage-sama, and prepare some plans for the dungeon."

Gaara turned around and walked toward the entrance door.

Temari sighed, "You heard him, let's go." She said to her brother.

The ninja bid farewell to each other and left the dungeon, returning to the surface.

[HOTD] Chapter 69 - Once again, Sea Life

Patreon hide the post, I need to edit something slightly. Here is the repost

***

"Good job, Saya."

"Fuhhh... This thing is tiring. I need water."

Miss Shizuka immediately gave her a mineral water bottle while massaging her shoulder gently.

"Ah, teacher. You don't need to do that!"

"Fufufu, let me spoil my cute students." She giggled, her soft fingers touching Saya's nape, earning an elicit moan from her.

Even when nothing erotic happened, Saya's sensitivity had increased from our non-stop week's play on the sea. That was a bit dangerous.

"Ughh... T-Teacher stop it!" Saya groaned.

Ignoring them, I went outside to refuel the yacht, pouring the contents of the fuel container to the fuel tank. 

I would need to fill all 4 20L containers every time I wanted to go full tank. If I drove slowly, using 1L for roughly 6 kilometers, 1 tank of 20L could last for 120 KM.

'That will give us around 480 KM to play with. Let's assume we only have 400 KM and save the rest in case of emergency.' I thought.

Unfortunately, I had no map on the yacht. Maybe there were some around this coast but we couldn't really go to land to find it now. What I needed was the internet and laptop or smartphone, which we didn't have right now. All I got was a compass.

'We can manage to last for 3 days with this fuel. Then I can use my Shop to buy fuel if we need it, no need to risk stopping again. 20L fuel for 20 Shop points, I say it's worth it.'

To reach our destination, we might need 2 to 3 more weeks. Staying in the sea meant we were relatively safe compared to the land where we would get attacked by the infected and survivors, though it didn't mean we were completely safe.

If the engine got damaged due to the storm, then our trip would become even longer. I also assumed there might be zombies in the sea, something similar to the one Leon found in that lake in Resident Evil 4.

Yeah, zombie sharks or crocodiles were scary. I hope they didn’t exist.

Anyway, it's time to continue our voyage. I went back to the cockpit to steer the ship after loosening the rope.

When I saw no one but Miss Shizuka was in the cockpit, I questioned her.

"Where are the two?"

"Saya went to the bathroom. Meanwhile, Saeko went to the bedroom after taking a bath, saying that she's tired and wants to sleep."

"Hmph, let's start then."

I turned on the engine, readying my hands to maneuver the steering wheel. The vessel roared in response as I pushed the throttle forward and steered it into open water.

Vrroom...

Looking back behind myself, I saw an endless horizon filled with nothingness spanning across the entire expanse beyond viewable distance.

A vast blue expanse stretched out ahead of my gaze. Our goal lies somewhere beneath its calm surface awaiting us eagerly.

While steering the wheel, Miss Shizuka stood next to me and asked, "Hey, why Alaska?"

"It's impossible to cross the vast ocean with its weather changes and storms in the middle of the sea. Thus, instead of aiming for the US directly, we should sail along the Siberia coast to North America. Fortunately, unlike the Pacific Ocean, the Arctic Sea seems calmer and it isn't too deep."

"I see." She nodded understandingly before asking another question. "Do you think Rika will be able to pick us?"

Honestly, I didn't know. Our communication had been cut off since I sent the last message that we were going to the US through the sea route. Whether she received it or not, I didn't know.

Still, our communication with the US army earlier mentioned that they knew about us, so the chance was high that she knew and waited for us in Alaska.

"Let's hope so." I answered nonchalantly.

"If she doesn't come to pick us up, I will get mad at her and spank her ass!" Miss Shizuka pumped her fists. Then, she looked at me, "Or do you want to be the one to do that?"

That sounded so kinky, it made me hard down there.

We spent the rest of the day chatting with her, talking about life and stuff like that while occasionally steering the yacht.

When afternoon arrived, Saeko entered the bridge with messy hair. She wore nothing at all, with a vibrator dangling in her pussy.

"Sis?" I questioned her in surprise.

Even Miss Shizuka was surprised upon seeing her.

She looked so needy and sexy.

Tiling her head, she looked at me and noticed where my gaze wandered off.

Realizing this fact, she shyly spoke, "I fell asleep while masturbating..." Her cheeks flushed pink as she stared downwards bashfully before continuing, "Brother, please service me. My pussy needs it desperately."

Miss Shizuka giggled at this display while giving a playful wink toward us. "It seems I need to steer the ship. Leave it to me, I have seen how you do it, so it should be easy~"

Without wasting any further moment, I pushed her to the wall and raised her leg. The vibrator dangling on her wet pussy came off.

I opened my zipper and my rod came free, throbbing violently. I touched the entrance of her wet vagina and rammed inside her without warning.

"Hnnngh!♥"

And so we fucked against the bridge wall while Miss Shizuka watched from the side. Saeko's boobs bounced up and down forcefully in rhythm with every thrust I delivered into the depths. My tip reached her cervix and penetrated through the uterus area each passing moment.

No need to mention, I finished inside her womb, planting a thick creampie filling up her womb to brim overflowing from the hole and running down inner thighs. With our mixed body fluids coating her lower parts thoroughly, I kissed Saeko lovingly afterwards.

"Haaah~ Brother! ♥ So rough, so good!♥"

"Watching you both makes me so wet." Miss Shizuka giggled cutely. Her hand held the steering wheel while the other played with her pussy through her panties. Her tits swayed up and down in rhythm with the boat's movement.

How lewd.

"You guys are busy. Geez."

At that moment, Saya joined in, looking quite disgruntled as she did so.

"Are you mad because you can't join?" Miss Shizuka giggled naughtily. "Saya-chan can be such pervert sometimes~"

"Wha- that's not what I meant!"

In the end, she joined too.

[HOTD] Chapter 70 – Fishing and Arrival

I will be busy and have family vacation soon I might upload the dungeon in 2 days or later at night if possible.

For now 2 chapters of HOTD, for today and tomorrow.

Enjoy

***

Days passed quickly.

I enjoyed daily casual life without any zombies attacking us constantly; occasionally engaging intimate activities amongst ourselves throughout our journey together.

Every night I spent sleeping peacefully under the starry sky. And when I was bored, I spent time fishing instead.

Because we also didn't wear clothes most of the time, and only doing minimum coverage for colds, we only needed a little water to wash them. We had more than enough reserves to last months. Though, we ended up eating fish instead of canned food. It was healthier anyway.

"Oh, I got something!" I announced joyfully as a sudden jerk yanked the line upward, "Sis, prepare the harpoon!"

"On it." Saeko grabbed the harpoon connected to rope and waited.

I reeled it back while struggling with the huge resistance. Whatever that was on the other end of the line was definitely big. However, it got closer as I kept reeling it. Its tail flipped above water, revealing the true size of the catch. Holy shit! This is the largest fish I have ever caught.

With my current strength, battling huge fish was easier. The hard part was when it jumped up. It required more than normal strength to handle it.

"Now!"

Saeko stabbed the giant fish, and the harpoon sank into its flesh deeply.

"Woohooo, nice catch!" Miss Shizuka cheered enthusiastically.

Saya shook her head in disbelief. "I swear you guys aren't normal anymore," She remarked disbelievingly. "This thing must weigh around 100 kilos or more and you are handling it like nothing! Geez!"

To be fair, Saeko was the inhuman one.

Without a system's help, she was still able to stab the fish without the risk of the harpoon falling down. She had improved greatly, surpassing even me, in fighting skill and strength. No wonder father chose her as the successor to learn our sword art.

I grinned widely and pulled the line forcefully. It was heavy alright but I still managed to lift it nonetheless thanks to my improved strength.

[Ding! You have received 25 Shop Points.]

Just like usual, the system wanted to mess with me by giving strange choices. This time, it was between eating 10 canned cans or eating the next fish that I would catch.

Thankfully, I got a large, delicious looking fish to eat.

"We're having sashimi this afternoon." I pulled the fish out of the water. It landed with a loud splash on the deck beside us. After measuring it with sight, I estimated around 60 cm.

So big.

Everyone gathered around to admire the size of this magnificent specimen we caught. Based on the color of the flesh, this might be a salmon. A perfect fish for sashimi.

Later that afternoon, we feasted on freshly cut sashimi prepared by Miss Shizuka herself who had become an expert cook after living together with us for weeks now.

She sliced the raw fillets thinly before placing them neatly over the plate. Each piece glistened beautifully against light emitted from overhead lamps illuminating the entire room brightly making everything look delicious indeed.

Not to mention, the sight of the girls enjoying the food in their sexy swimsuits despite the cold made everything better.

However, even as we lived our lives in peace on the sea, there was one thing bothering me. No more communication from the US army arrived since a few days ago. Saya tried to connect a few times but there were only noises.

Wasn't it weird? Why didn't they contact us? Could it be that they lost our position?

"What should we do about this?" Saya asked worriedly.

Right, what should we do?

The best thing that could happen is that someone else contacted us, preferably Rika.

However, if no one contacted us, it was possible that the US also descended into chaos, especially if someone infected boarded a plane to US territory.

Our safe haven suddenly transformed to hell itself.

"We can only hope for the best," Miss Shizuka interjected somberly, "But I'm afraid our journey ends soon and we will arrive in Alaska."

Indeed, we had been in the sea for more than 3 weeks now. Anything could happen on the land by now.

'Hope there is still salvation for us. If not, well... we can only try our best.'

With newfound determination set firmly within mind, I decided to proceed onward despite potential dangers lurking ahead unknown.

Only thing left uncertain now was whether or not fate would grant safe arrival upon reaching shorelines ahead. As long as everything went smoothly without encountering trouble during travels then perhaps things might work out fine somehow.

I spent more than 120 Points for fuel and water, but I managed to gain the same amount plus 5 from the system trying to mock me. Besides fishing, the choice came once when I was taking a shit.

Unreliable, yes. But it helped.

Our trip to Alaska took approximately five weeks. As expected, we didn't get any communication until the end.

Fortunately, we landed safely. Unfortunately, the cold was so unbearable we had to wear multiple layers of clothing and thick jackets. Unlike when they weren't wearing anything, this was kinda unpleasant for me, haha...

"Ugh, the cold is killing me." Saya rubbed her gloved hands against her cheek while stomping foot repeatedly atop frozen ground. Her teeth clatter loudly within mouth indicating extreme discomfort experienced by the young lady amidst harsh winter conditions.

"Indeed, even with warm clothes on I still feel a shiver creeping down my spine." Miss Shizuka added similarly. Both women wrapped themselves tightly around me seeking comfort against freezing temperatures currently surrounding us.

"Fufufu, it seems you're our heat packs now, brother." Saeko giggled, following them and hugging me from the front. "Ah, so warm."

"Geez, do you guys feel that cold? Just deal with it." I shrugged dismissively at their reaction.

While I did admit the temperature dropped considerably low here compared to previous regions we passed through thus far; however, I personally thought the weather wasn't too bad.

I meant, they were naked near the Russian coast. If they could handle it, they could handle this. I knew they just needed some excuses to snuggle with me.

They complained cutely for a few seconds before stopping.

"So, what should we do?" Saeko asked.

"Pack everything in a humvee and move. Find a working communication device first then we can decide our destination."

"What do we do if we didn't receive any news?"

"Guess we just need to drive to Chicago."

What an unexpected predicament.

We parked the yacht at a nearby port, and brought everything that might be useful including guns, medicine, and warm clothing to the humvee. And also the radio, which still produced noise, and nothing more.

Now, where should we go first?

[HOTD] Chapter 68 – Requesting Pickup

I waited until the first group was a few meters away from the shooters before I pulled the trigger. The suppressed gunshot rang as the bullet hit his head.

Before anyone could react, I aimed at the other gunner and pulled the trigger. The second gunshot rang out loudly causing the heads of unfortunate victims to have an additional hole. 

They dropped to the ground with a loud thud much to the others' confusion.

"^!@$!@$!"

Someone shouted something in Russian. I couldn't understand him, but the rage in his expression was apparent. He yelled angrily towards me.

A few of them broke away, trying to get the guns. Others started to attack, closing the distance between us with their melee weapons in hand. Some held pistols ready to shoot when given the opportunity.

Unfortunately, I had better weapons. I picked them one by one before they got too close. Those going for guns and those who had pistols. Even without being trained to use guns, pistols could kill people, and I needed to get rid of them fast.

Bang!

I shot the nearest pistol user in his face and he fell backward dead instantly, then I turned attention towards the next target who attempted to retrieve his fallen comrade's firearm.

The bullet struck him square between eyes killing instantly before falling limply onto pavement below him. Then I continued firing rapidly until only four guys trying to run toward our yacht remained.

"Sis." I called out as I pulled away from the scope.

When I looked up, Saeko had already moved. She leaped to the deck, sword unsheathed, and rushed toward the attackers with a terrifying grin on her beautiful face.

Her speed was unmatched as she dashed past them without warning. In the blink of an eye, she pierced one of the men with her sword, kicking him away afterwards. The blood splashed on her face, coloring her white skin crimson red.

The other three raged when they saw their companion got killed by a girl.

One man raised his metal bat, charging at Saeko furiously, attempting to strike her down with brute force alone.

Another one slashed wildly with his machete.

However...

Saeko blocked both blows simultaneously with ease and countered with a quick slash across throat. Blood sprayed everywhere, creating a pool of dark red liquid underneath the deceased attacker lying motionless in front of her feet.

Next, Saeko kicked another approaching assailant away, sending him crashing hard against the dock wall. He gasped for air briefly before looking up.

All he could see was Saeko's sinister expression, relishing the battle and murder, her eyes twinkled in delight. Her black clothes covered in crimson droplets made her look like a devil, bathed in blood.

The man did his best to shake his head violently signaling surrender but Saeko wouldn't accept that kind gesture. She plunged her sword into his chest without hesitation.

What was left in this dock was a single girl with a satisfied expression, one that looked pretty lewd in my opinion, and multiple corpses decorating the floor.

She swung her sword and cleaned the blood left on the blade with clean clothes before sheathing it back. Her breathing labored after intense combat.

"Good job, sis. Go to the bridge and rest while I take care of their guns." I greeted her with a light peck on the lips. The taste of blood entered my tongue and she replied by sucking mine.

"Hm~ Yes, brother." She happily returned to the ship's bridge area after giving me a hug.

After securing the area, I checked their belongings and looted the corpses. Among them, 5 guns in working order could be salvaged.

Two AK-47 and 3 Nagant M1895 revolvers, an upgrade from our current revolver. The handgun had 7 rounds instead of 5 and the power was far superior than our pistol.

Unfortunately they had no spare ammos for the guns beside the remaining one in the magazine, but I could solve that with my shop. 

Both of them also used 7.62 ammo, though the pistol needed a different type, so they couldn't share ammos with my current rifle. Maybe the AK-47 could, but I rather used the one that matched it.

It's not like I only had 100 or 200 points now, I had more than 3,000.

'Great. This is a nice haul for us. Should I find their shelter and loot more?'

Nah, I had no idea how many there were, so it's better to stay here. I returned to the yacht and decided to check on Saya's progress. When I arrived, she was still concentrating with Miss Shizuka sitting on the side.

Saeko seemed to have taken a bath and changed her clothes, seeing she wasn't there.

I decided to wait for Saya to finish outside, guarding the yacht from any incoming attack.

And so I waited on top of the humvee on guard duty.

An hour passed with me listening to various sounds coming from the radio mixed together forming static noise filling the entire space around me.

Suddenly, voices came out clearly.

"Bzzzzz... Ksssh Bzzzt. ...found signal. krrhht"

"We... Bzzztt... reading... you... Hello... Anyone? ....Hellooo"

After struggling with adjusting the antenna's position slightly for the next several seconds, the voice became clearer.

"This is the US army bzzt... currently looking for survi... Can you hear me? Hello?"

It seemed like the connection still had problems, but it should be fine as long as we could understand each other.

"This is Takagi Saya from Russia speaking. We're Japanese evacuating to the USA. Requesting pickup around! Please help!"

"Yes, hello! Bzzt.. we can read you... but pick up is impossible."

"Then contact Minami Rika from the special forces. Tell her that Busujima and Shizuka request a pickup in the Alaska area! We have valuable information about parasites and T-Virus from Umbrella Corp."

The conversation paused for a while, making me a bit nervous.

But then, another voice rang from the radio, one radiating authority.

"I've been monitoring the conversation. May I ask about your status?"

"My status is..."

We managed to establish communication with the US army.

Finally, I felt like a burden was lifted from my shoulders and we had a bright future ahead. Now all I needed was making sure they would fetch us somewhere safe.

".... Roger. Please keep this frequency open to update your status."

"Roger that."

And just like that, we finally succeeded in getting in touch with someone else after spending almost a week in the water.

[Dungeon] Chapter 68 – Annoying Rule

"Watch out!" Gaara yelled, sending a wave of sand to block the incoming attack.

The sand hit the bat and knocked it away. The bat screeched in pain, but it didn't stop attacking. Instead, it flew towards Kankurou, who was closest to it.

"This little!" He cursed and quickly summoned his puppet.

A humanoid puppet with long hair, wearing a black cloak and carrying a large sickle. It was his strongest puppet, and he had been saving it for a special occasion.

With a slight movement from his fingers, Kankurou ordered the puppet to attack.

The puppet leaped into the air, swinging its arms, but the bat easily dodged the attack. It flew around the puppet and flapped its wing.

A wind blade cut through the puppet's leg, making Kankurou flinch as he didn't expect it.

"Wind blade?!" Temari shouted, "Since when did bats use Wind Blade?!"

"Damnit!" He cursed, "What the hell is going on!?"

Gaara didn't say anything. He controlled his sand and sent it to attack the bat. The sand grabbed onto its leg and slammed it down on the ground. It cried out in pain and tried to fly away, but Gaara kept his grip on it. The sand started to tighten around it and crushed its bones.

The bat screamed in agony and stopped moving. The Kazekage released his hold on the bat and let the corpse drop to the ground. There were more bats coming, but he was prepared.

"Temari, cover our backs."

"Futon! Goufuu Koujutsu!"

A strong gust of wind blew through the area as Temari swung her large fan, hitting the bats that were trying to fly away. The wind cut through the tree branches and the bats fell to the ground, dead. But, more of them were coming, attracted by the smell of blood.

"I'm not good at dealing with a lot of enemies." Kankurou admitted. "I will cover your back."

He activated his puppet again, and it began to move.

Meanwhile, Temari became their rear guard, swinging her fan and sending wind blades to kill the bats that tried to escape. She was the only one who could attack multiple targets at once, and they needed her firepower.

"Keep on attacking!" Gaara shouted, "Don't let them get close to you!"

The battle raged on for a while. Gaara's sand and Kankurou's puppet fought the bats that were attacking them. Some of them managed to pass through and bite Kankurou.

"Argh!" He cursed, "They are sucking my blood!"

Grabbing the bat on his shoulder, he threw it away and quickly used his puppet to crush it. The bat screeched and died, but the damage had already been done.

"Damn it!"

"Kankurou, are you okay!?" Temari shouted.

"I am fine, but the bleeding won't stop."

Blood trickled down his arm, staining his clothes. He tried to stop the bleeding by pressing on the wound, but it was no use.

Even though he wanted to continue, Kankurou's vision was starting to become blurry. His legs were shaking, and he couldn't even stand properly. It was getting hard to breathe too.

"Kankurou!" Temari screamed, "Could it be a poison?!"

"Seems so." Gaara replied. "Drink the antidote we brought before. We still have a lot left."

"Antidote?" Kankurou muttered, "I think I still have some."

He reached into his pocket and took out a small vial. It was filled with a clear liquid and a label that read "Antidote". He popped the cork open and drank the entire bottle in one go.

"Ugh... That's bitter."

Temari sighed in relief, "Good. Now you just need to rest and recover."

Kankurou sat down, feeling his strength slowly returning. The bats were still attacking them, but they couldn't get close because of Gaara's sand. The Kazekage kept on protecting them with his sand, while Temari was busy dealing with the bats with her fans.

Many bat corpses fell on the ground, and the smell of blood was strong in the air.

"Gaara, how long can we keep on fighting like this?" Temari asked. "There are too many of them. We should retreat."

"Go first." He replied, "We can't afford to lose anyone. Even if we can revive in this dungeon, it's better if we don't die here."

She hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Okay."

"Kankurou, can you stand now?" Gaara asked, glancing over his shoulder. "We're leaving."

"Yeah, I can." Kankurou stood up, still feeling a bit weak, but he could walk. "Let's go."

As soon as he heard that, Gaara put his hands together and activated a jutsu.

"Sand Tsunami."

The sand that was surrounding them started to rise up, forming a large wave. It was like an ocean wave, except that it was made of sand. The sand tsunami swept away all the bats that were in front of them, creating a path.

"Let's go!" Temari yelled, "Run!"

They ran as fast as they could, returning to the way back from the entrance gate.

However, as they kept running, they realized something. The forest looked the same as before, they passed the river twice and found another group of bats.

"Wait, didn't we already pass through here?" Kankurou asked. "The scenery is the same as before."

Temari looked around, "We're lost, aren't we?"

Gaara shook his head, "No, we're not. We're going in circles."

"What do you mean?" Temari asked.

"This is a maze." He explained, "A labyrinth. There must be an illusion put on it to confuse us."

Kankurou frowned, "What? How is that possible? This place is huge. How can someone make a maze like this? This is just a forest."

"Inside a strange place called a dungeon." Temari shot back, "Where anything is possible. We should have known better."

"So, what should we do now?"

Gaara didn't reply and started to concentrate. His sand rose up and flew toward the sky, breaking the tree canopy above them. Then, it formed a ball above them.

"I'll destroy the entire forest." He muttered, "It's the fastest way."

His eyes narrowed dangerously as he raised his arms.

Sand rose up to the sky, covering the entire area. The sand then began to move, forming a large wave. It was like a tsunami, but instead of water, the wave was made of sand.

In an instant, the sand tsunami swept through the forest, tearing apart everything in its path. Trees were uprooted, animals were killed, and the ground was torn apart.

Or so it should be what happened.

[Warning! You have broken the dungeon's rule.]

[Destroying the dungeon's environment isn't permitted. Punishment will be given to those breaking the rule.]

A notification window suddenly popped up in front of his eyes.

And before he could react, he lost control of the sand and it dropped to the ground.

"What?" Gaara muttered, shocked by what had happened. "What's this?"

"What's going on?" Kankurou asked, "Did something happen to you, Gaara?"

Gaara didn't answer. He was staring at the notification window in front of his face.

"Gaara?" Temari asked.

"There is a strange something in front of my eyes, one that is similar to a Dungeon Chat Room. It said I broke the dungeon's rule."

" Rule?" Temari asked, "What kind of rule?"

"It said that I destroyed the environment, and it is forbidden." He replied. "I'm not sure what it means."

"So we have to play by the rules." Temari sighed. "Great. This place is getting more and more annoying."

[HOTD] Chapter 67 – Flee or Fight

Why was exploring this dangerous area the highest reward?

Knowing the system, the higher the reward, then the higher the risk for me and my companion.

I needed to collect Points to buy the zombie serum in case of an emergency, but I also didn't want to take too much risk before arriving in the US. My original objective was to find the fuel quickly.

However, going to the mall and the dock warehouse also sounded nice. At least we could secure more supplies, including food.

Choices 1 and 3 was a straightforward method to get fuel, and I would get them in a short time.

Yeah, no. Playing safe would be better.

I decided to trust my instinct this time and went to the gas station. I could already see it from where I was standing, so I sprinted there at full speed. There was nothing worth noting except some lone zombie wandering aimlessly, and I could easily ignore them.

"Huff... Huff... Phew."

[Ding! You have received 50 Shop Points!]

When I arrived there, it was deserted, no presence of either humans nor zombies could be seen anywhere nearby. However, broken glass windows indicated someone had been scavenging here earlier.

Gas station was completely abandoned, and the cars blocked access into pumps by barricading the entryway.

Fortunately, the fuel hadn't been siphoned.

There was an electric pump that seemed intact and working properly despite lack of power supply elsewhere. I quickly bought 4x 20L containers from my Shop for 10 points and filled them using a hose connected to said pump. I had no time finding them because I was worried about Saya.

Once filled, I grabbed both containers under armpit each containing around 19 liters of diesel total, enough for a few hundred kilometers distance travelled depending on conditions.

With my strength, carrying those heavy containers was nothing. Although, carrying too much would leave me open and I couldn't fight with my sword.

But that's enough for us to go further. We would find another gas station along the way.

Taking Saya and leaving the yacht alone wasn't an option either. It could be taken by people who thought they could use it to escape.

I immediately returned to the beach afterward where Saeko and Miss Shizuka already waited for me.

Seeing them, I sighed in relief knowing that they managed to acquire what needed without incident occurring during the process.

Both women carried backpacks filled with medicine, bandages, contraceptives, etc., basically anything useful enough to ensure survival in the apocalyptic world we lived in right now.

They stood beside humvee parked nearby shore next to our ship.

"That was fast. Did you get what you wanted?"

"Yup." I responded, showing them my containers. "These should suffice. And we should get out of here soon."

Sensing my serious words, Saeko nodded. We moved inside the yacht. There, I stored the fuel tank inside and put the empty container on the side.

Then I went to the bridge to see Saya concentrate trying to get a connection through the radio.

"Hmmph..." After a moment, she turned toward us, smiling broadly.

"Just a bit more and I will get a connection. I was connected to something earlier and I think it's an army. Seems like they are also looking for survivors too." She announced excitedly before adding somberly.

As if mocking me, the choice appeared again for the second time.

[Make your choice!]

1. Screw the communication and leave the island. (Reward: 100 Shop Points)

2. Stay a bit longer to wait for the communication to connect. This might be a once in a lifetime opportunity! (Reward: 200 Shop Points)

So it came to this.

Based on the choice, it was either prioritizing our safety or took some risk to get connected with the US army. I didn't need to think much about this.

"How long do you think it will take?" I asked.

"Not long. Maybe one or two hours and we will connect to them." Saya answered.

That was long.

If I were the survivor who saw a running yacht like this, I would surely be interested. Especially in this city ruins where everything seemed to be out of energy. The chance to have attention from everyone was too big.

Still, having a connection to the US army would make our trip safer, wouldn't it? Maybe I could trade some information about the virus for security or something. After all, information was also valuable during crisis.

After thinking for a bit, I made my choice.

"Let's stay then. Have Miss Shizuka near you so she can give you water or food if you need it. I will stay outside with my sister to protect the ship."

I trusted Saya for handling this.

[Ding! You have received 200 Shop Points!]

I explained it to both Miss Shizuka and Saeko, the former happily obeyed and brought water and food, leaving only me and my sister on the dock.

At that moment, I told her about the danger lurking nearby, which might attack us at any second.

"The survivors might have guns, so we need to be ready." I said, preparing my rifle.

I had 4 full magazines and 40 remaining bullets in the box. If we were attacked, I needed to be bold. Hesitation would lead to death. Those desperate survivors weren't zombies. They would act intelligently.

"Let's hide in the bow area, using the shadows. Also, don't shoot unless I say so." I advised sternly.

Saeko simply listened obediently, following me wherever we went.

Once hidden, I watched patiently for movement from afar; hoping perhaps luck favored our side this once today but alas... 

Not even five minutes passed when I saw a person behind a building, seemingly observing us from a safe distance away. Then another popped up next to him soon followed by a third individual emerging alongside the first two observers.

Two of them ran back inside the building after nodding to each other, possibly informing the others.

I could shoot them right now, but that would alert them that we had guns. The best way was to wait until they gathered and killed them all. It could also give us more guns for us to use.

"I saw three of them, more might come soon. I will prioritize shooting those with guns, so I will leave whoever gets close to you, sis. Of course, don't come out from this place before I kill them all. That would be dangerous."

"Fufufu, I believe in brother's skill. I am sure you can wipe them all without problem."

"Of course."

In the middle of my reply, two guys emerged from the building. One man wielded a baseball bat while another clutched a crowbar tightly across chest. Both men approached cautiously.

Following closely behind these first groups, ten additional individuals trailed along quietly.

Unlike previous arrivals however, this particular bunch wore masks concealing identity and armed themselves heavily ranging from kitchen knives to large machetes. Their attire consisted of ragged clothes stained with dirt and grime covering the entire body.

Most notably amongst the entire ensemble however...

Two people in the back were holding AK-47, aiming at us. I already pointed my gun at them, proning down carefully on the yacht floor.

The ones on the front didn't matter as long as I quickly neutralized the shooters first. A total of 14 people, we could do this.

Still, I hoped their guns would be useful.

[Dungeon] Chapter 67 – Strange Forest

Meanwhile, in the throne room, Cain was sitting on a chair, watching the ninja group's struggle against the chicken. They had been at it for almost 30 minutes now, and they were nowhere close to catching it.

"Hahahaha, this is so fun!" He laughed, "To think they would give up after only 30 minutes. How pathetic."

Not even Ninja with their movements were able to catch the special monster he set as a joke. Jiraiya didn't join and they thought the chicken wasn't worth their effort, but that didn't change the fact that they failed.

"Too bad." Cain mused as he leaned back in his chair. "The lightsaber I made was really nice too. I wish someone could see it. I even spent 1000 Dungeon Coins for that item."

He had crafted a red lightsaber, similar to what Darth Vader uses in the Star Wars series. It was the third Rare Weapon he had made, and it was worth 1000 Coins.

The original reward he put as a drop was a flaming sword, but he changed it at the last minute to a lightsaber. That's why no one knew about it, and they didn't put much effort into catching the chicken.

"It's their loss, though." He shrugged, "They will never see anything like this in their life. It's a pity they don't know its value. Maybe I should make the announcement pop up like my system window. Or maybe just wait until people from outside finish their preparation."

He could wait a little bit longer. It's not like he had anything else to do anyways.

"Let's see what happens next."

Cain closed the window and opened the chatroom.

It was buzzing with activities after his announcement. The people were excited, and some were already preparing to enter his dungeon again.

'Good. I can't wait to see what will happen.'

Cain smiled as he read their conversations, thinking about how his dungeon would become famous.

'Now, the only problem is how to make people talk about this place outside. I need more fame. What should I do?'

A normal citizen, one with no power. He planned to create a challenge dungeon where power was restricted, everyone equal.

He wanted to show that even the weakest person could become the strongest in his dungeon. He wanted to show the world that his dungeon was the greatest of them all.

"Offering a reward is one way to gain fame." He mused as he browsed through the chatroom, "Maybe I should add another reward? Like money or something? Or perhaps something else entirely."

Setting up Gacha system using Dungeon Coin as a currency would be perfect. He only needed to collect the Coins needed to set the system in place. Not to mention, the many rewards he had to prepare beforehand and the percentage of each drop.

However, he couldn't think of any good reward right now. All he had was the lightsaber and the other two Rare Weapons he had made before, and those wouldn't be enough to attract more people to his dungeon.

"I need to get more ideas." He muttered to himself.

Also, he lately thought to himself. Something fundamental that he needed the most. To keep going with this dungeon creation.

Right now, he had already completed his objective of evading the danger that Bishop showed him. His future was safe from the 'danger' that he had shown him, and he could stop here. He could return to his peaceful life and leave behind everything that had happened until now.

But...

"Should I just keep going? I don't want to go back to my old life." He sighed, leaning back in his chair.

He wanted to keep going, creating dungeons and messing with the challengers.

The end goal for people was different, but a reason to live was important. Cain's reason was to keep on going with this dungeon. No matter how boring or uneventful it may be, he wanted to live his life in this way.

And he would do anything to achieve that goal.

"Let's keep going with this. The Ninja won't be able to beat Floor 2-2 easily and there won't be any people entering the dungeon in an hour. Maybe I should make the challenge dungeon based on a rage game?"

***

Meanwhile, Gaara and the others were inside a large forest.

They could see a tall wall from the gaps between the trees, but for some reason they just couldn't exit the forest.

"Damn it, I'm lost!" Kankurou cursed, slamming his fist on the ground, "Why is this place so confusing!?"

Temari shook her head, "Don't panic. We can still find a way out."

Gaara looked around him, "Let's keep going. We have to find a way out of this forest before Naruto and the others catch up. Our goal is probably that tall wall. I can see the building behind it."

After walking for a few minutes, the group found themselves in front of a river. It was wide and deep, with no bridge in sight.

"Great..." Kankurou grumbled, looking at the river, "Now what?"

Temari frowned, "Let's cross it. Gaara can carry us with his sand."

"It's easy."

With a simple movement, the sand beneath their feet rose up, lifting them above the ground. They soared into the air, passing over the river with ease. Gaara's sand was strong enough to hold their weight without breaking apart. It carried them to the other side and set them down gently.

"Thanks, Gaara." Temari said, "That was a great idea."

Gaara nodded, "No problem. But I can't get past the tree canopy no matter what."

"Yeah, it's really strange." Kankurou agreed, "Let's keep moving. We need to be careful of the monsters too."

The three of them continued to move forward, heading deeper into the forest. The trees grew denser and the light dimmed until it became impossible to see anything beyond a few meters ahead. The forest was filled with a strange energy that made their skin tingle.

Black dirt and green grass were everywhere and the sound of the river flowing nearby made the atmosphere eerie. The only sound that broke the silence was the occasional rustling of leaves and the sound of bats.

As they continued further into the forest, they started to notice bats flying around. At first, they thought nothing of it, but when they saw a large amount of them flying around, they became worried.

"Hey, aren't those bats a bit strange?" Temari asked, "There are so many of them."

Gaara looked around, his eyes narrowing, "I don't like this. Let's move on quickly. We're wasting time."

Kankurou nodded, "Right, let's hurry up and get out of here. This place gives me the creeps."

Their worries were proven right moments later when a bat suddenly flew down from the trees and attacked them.

[HOTD] Chapter 66 – Abandoned Coastal City

I wasn't a genius at controlling ships or reading maps, but I knew it was impossible to reach the US in a few days through sea travel in a yacht.

Not to mention the ocean's condition, we also didn't have enough fuel to travel that far. That said, it wouldn't hurt to find some island on the way and restock some supplies. Furthermore, it wouldn't be bad living on an uninhabited island if we found one.

That was the best scenario anyway. But if we couldn't find one, we would die of thirst before we could reach anywhere inhabited.

Talking about that, I was faced with a few choices on the boat, one that involved sexual activities with the girl. They were hungry for me, always attacking me except for when we were sleeping.

As a result, my points and status increased slightly.

[Name: Busujima Daiki

Strength: 30 | Agility: 32 | Stamina: 35 | Dexterity: 29

Skills: Busujima Swordsmanship (Intermediate), Marksmanship (Intermediate), Sex Arts (Intermediate)

Shop Points: 2985 P]

My points returned to when we were about to depart. The one that grew the most was my Stamina, mainly thanks to the girls.

I'd like to get such easy choices again, but that's not possible. We were low on fuel and were forced to find a stop.

In the end, I had to stop the ship after a week in the sea.

"Where are we?" Miss Shizuka asked as we stepped on the land.

Civilizations were present, and we seemed like we were in a coastal city or something like that. Looking around, I saw some sign written in a foreign language, a distinct one that I immediately recognized.

"Somewhere in Russia." I answered.

"Russia, huh?" Saya remarked with a disinterested tone. She walked beside me while checking her surroundings cautiously, crossbow ready for immediate use whenever necessary. "It's near Japan so I guess that's about right."

"Do you know where exactly, brother?"

"No, sorry. But I guess we can find some communication devices here. I need to contact someone so they can pick us up around Alaska."

I planned to contact Miss Rika so she could send a helicopter for us. Unfortunately, the phone batteries had gone empty so we could only wait until we found a recharging station.

"Will someone be able to pick us up?" Saya asked suspiciously.

"If we're lucky, yes." I nodded, "We can use the parasite we found in that underground lab as a reward for them picking us up. The US army would definitely be interested in something new. I doubt they haven't uncovered any of the virus' origin yet."

"In other words, there's still no guarantee whether they'll come or not?" Saeko frowned uneasily. "What should we do if it doesn't work out?"

"Hmm, worst case scenario, we will use Humvee to go to the US through land route. But before that, let's get some fuel and a phone.

Saya, can you try to use the radio to have contact with the US army? If you are connected, ask them about Minami Rika and mention my or Miss Shizuka's name."

"Hmph! So I am a stay at home wife without a job again."

"Nope, you will be needed here to explain many things to the US government. I trust you with that."

"If you say so, then I guess I will have to do it. Also, do your best securing the fuel then!" Saya ordered haughtily. Despite her attitude, she looked pleased.

I chuckled seeing her face and gave her a kiss.

"Mnn~♥" She moaned briefly.

She returned to the yacht floating in the sea and stayed there, waiting for anyone to respond to her call.

"What about me then?" Miss Shizuka inquired curiously.

"You can come with us. We will stop by the pharmacy, so take anything useful for our trip. Like fever meds and others."

"Fufu, okie! I will make sure to stock any pregnancy pills too~"

I never mentioned that, but if she wanted to prepare one, why not? Who knows what happened during our trip.

Saeko smiled at me brightly after listening to my response to Miss Shizuka.

"I will escort you, Miss Shizuka. I need to get a menstruation pad too."

"That will help me a lot!"

"Then I will find the fuel." I said.

Which meant I would have to move by myself. Great, just something I needed now.

We went our separate way to scavenge items.

For fuel, I guessed the nearby gas station would have them. Anything that could run a yacht was good, especially diesel or kerosene. If those weren't available, gasoline could also be used, although the engine needed to be cleaned frequently after.

Furthermore, extra gas containers should come handy if encountered trouble later along the journey ahead. There was no telling what might happen during our trip, thus being prepared beforehand always paid off greatly.

Armed with a katana strapped around the waist, a handgun holstered inside the chest holster, and two hand grenades on my vest, I ventured forward through mostly empty streets littered by wreckage caused by the initial outbreak several weeks ago.

This place reminded me of a battlefield I saw in some war news. Buildings crumbled under explosions inflicted upon walls surrounding them. Rubble lay strewn haphazardly amongst debris everywhere. Deformed corpses clad in military uniform littered everywhere among zombies' bodies.

Seemed like Russians had hard times evacuating from their country as well.

From the look of it, they even used tanks to clear zombies. And yet, they lost.

"This is terrible." I muttered aloud while staring bleakly towards the ruins.

In a place like this, zombies wouldn't be the biggest problem. It would be the survivors, desperate people surviving only god knows how. Starvation, dehydration, and diseases ran rampant in situations like this.

More than two weeks had passed since the outbreak, making this the most sensitive time when their supplies had dwindled and they were forced to search for more.

Some might resort to raiding others homes and businesses just to obtain bare necessities needed to merely survive another day longer.

Such actions led inevitably towards conflict between factions vying control over limited resources available. Violence ensued everywhere unchecked resulting in many casualties every passing moment.

The longer we stayed here, the greater risk posed against ourselves.

[Make your choice!]

1. Find the gas station quickly and bring back fuel. (Reward: 50 Shop Points!)

2. Mall seems like a good choice. Maybe it has everything? (Reward: 75 Shop Points)

3. Maybe a dock warehouse would have some fuel. (Reward: 150 Shop Points)

4. Take it easy and explore the place for anything useful. (Reward: 250 Shop Points!)

Well, shit...

[Dungeon] Chapter 66 – Turbo Chicken

Meanwhile, the Ninja's group moved to the corridor connecting to Floor 2-2 carefully.

Unlike the space earlier, the corridor they were walking at was lit by torches, casting bright lights on their path. However, the ceiling and walls weren't visible because of the darkness. There was only a narrow road they could walk on.

"It's uncomfortable." Shikamaru mused, "This place is creepy."

"It is, but at least it is better than the burning forest we were in before." Temari sighed. "At least we can see the path in front of us without any smoke."

She looked at the torch on the wall with a thoughtful look. "Still, this place is weird."

Gaara walked in the middle of the group, looking at everything around him. His sand was ready to protect them from anything, but he still didn't feel safe.

"Hey, Gaara! Do you see anything strange?" Naruto asked him, "I don't think there are any traps here."

"My sands detect nothing either." Gaara shook his head. "But it's better to be cautious."

They continued walking forward until they reached another room. Jiraiya stopped at the entrance and narrowed his eyes.

"This room..." He frowned. "It looks similar to before."

Everyone looked around, trying to find something out of place. They were in a circular room, with a giant door on the opposite wall. There was a torch on the left side of the door and some kind of writing on the right side. 

The writings were written in a language unknown to them, and there was no way to understand what it said.

And at the center of the room, a single chicken stood, guarding the door.

"It's a chicken!" Naruto shouted in surprise.

Temari rolled her eyes and sighed.

"You're right, it's a chicken. What else do you want us to do?"

"Is it a monster?" Kankurou asked, eyeing the animal carefully.

"I don't think so. It looks normal to me." Temari said. She glanced at the others, who also nodded in agreement.

"Let's try it."

Taking no chance, Gaara controlled his sand to attack the chicken. The sand moved as if alive, shooting through the air towards its target.

And just like that, the chicken was crushed.

Or so they thought.

A strange sound echoed through the room, causing everyone to turn around in surprise.

"Cock-a-doodle!"

They glanced at the corner of the room, seeing the same chicken they thought was dead, alive and well, cocking its head at them. Its eyes glowed with a strange light.

"What?" Naruto exclaimed in surprise, "It dodged that?!"

"Doesn't matter." Gaara replied, "It will die soon."

His sand flew forward again and crushed the chicken for the second time. However, the result remained the same, the chicken appeared in another place as if it teleported.

Raising his hand, Gaara controlled his sand directly, faster than it moved before, and tried to crush the chicken once more. But the result was the same.

The chicken jumped and ran away easily. It appeared in a different area of the room, cocking its head at them and cooed loudly.

"Cock-a-doodle doo!"

"What the fuck?!" Kankurou cursed, "What the hell is wrong with this thing!?"

"Let me try." Shikamaru knelt and activated his shadow binding jutsu, trying to catch the chicken with his shadows. But the result was the same, the chicken avoided his attack and appeared in another place, seemingly laughing at him. "Tch, troublesome."

Naruto made a hand sign and summoned a clone, who immediately charged toward the chicken with a kunai in his hand.

Seeing the approaching ninja, the chicken flapped its wings, trying to fly away, but the shadow clone grabbed it by the legs and slammed it into the ground.

"Got it!" Naruto grinned triumphantly, thinking he had finally caught the annoying bird. However, when he looked at his hands, there was nothing there.

"Where is it!?" He shouted in confusion, "Where did it go!?"

Jiraiya sighed in exasperation as he saw the chicken running around freely again.

"That's not a normal chicken."

Indeed, the chicken wasn't normal.

Cain had bought it in the monster menu, meaning this was a monster monster. But it was different from the others.

This monster was special.

Costing 500 Coins, which was way higher than a mere goblin or skeleton, this monster was called Turbo Chicken. It had no combat power, but it boasted B+ AGI, higher than even the Dullahan.

Not to mention, it had a special skill called 'Boost', which allowed it to increase its speed 5 times for a short moment. This was the reason why the chicken was so hard to catch, it simply ran away at the last minute.

But the most important part was that this chicken had the lowest HP and DEF. One hit could kill it.

Unfortunately, the Turbo Chicken was too fast for its own good. As a result, it became an annoying existence that no one could deal with, and its life became a torture as the ninja chased it around the room.

"Argh! Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Screaming, Naruto created tens of clones and ordered them to catch the chicken.

However, the chicken was faster than the clones and evaded every attack.

"Argh! Die you bastard!"

Naruto's clone threw a kunai at the chicken, but the chicken dodged it easily.

"Die! Die!"

Another Naruto clone tried to grab the chicken, but it was too fast.

"DIEEEEE!"

The other stopped their attack entirely as the clearing was filled with Naruto. Shikamaru was the most annoyed by the scene.

"Jiraiya-sensei, can you help us?" Shikamaru asked the Sannin. "That chicken is really annoying. I don't think we will be able to continue with this."

Jiraiya looked at him and grinned, "Isn't this a good training, Shikamaru? How about you try to catch it too?"

"Me?" Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "I don't know how to catch a chicken. It's troublesome."

"Then let Naruto do the job. Everyone else can use this chance to recover their chakra too before we enter Floor 2-2."

Jiraiya laughed, watching Naruto's clones chasing the chicken around the room. It seemed like the blonde boy was determined to kill the animal, but he wasn't doing well. The chicken was fast, and it didn't seem to be running out of stamina any time soon.

"Ugh, troublesome." Shikamaru muttered, "Fine, I'll join him."

He stood up and walked towards Naruto, who was still trying to catch the chicken. "Hey, Naruto. I'm going to help you."

Naruto turned around and grinned, "Yes! Let's do it together, Shikamaru! We will kill that bastard! Come over here!"

Shikamaru nodded, and he used his shadow binding technique once more.

It didn't work. The chicken just moved faster, avoiding his attack.

"Damn it!"

Naruto shouted in frustration, "Shikamaru! You're supposed to help me!"

"I am helping you!" Shikamaru shouted back. "I'm just not strong enough to catch it."

Minutes passed by quickly as they chased after the chicken, but the result remained the same. The chicken was still alive, and it was standing on top of Naruto's sprawled body, poking him in the face with its beak.

"Cock-a-doodle-do~"

"Argh! Stop it!" Naruto shouted, swatting the chicken away. He got up and prepared to chase after it again. However, before he could do so, Shikamaru stopped him.

"Forget it, Naruto." Shikamaru said, "You're tired, and you've wasted too much of your chakra. We need to go to Floor 2-2 after this."

"B-But!" Naruto argued, but stopped when he saw Jiraiya nodding at his words.

"Yes. You've done a good job, Naruto. Rest for a bit." The Sannin spoke, "You will need your full chakra in the next floor."

"But that chicken-" Naruto protested, but was interrupted by the chicken's loud cock-a-doodle-do, "Damn it! I will definitely catch that chicken!"

Naruto turned around and started chasing after the chicken again, ignoring everyone's advice. "Come back here!"

Shikamaru watched him with a sigh, "Troublesome."

"Sennin, we will move to the next floor first." Gaara spoke, looking at the giant gate, "We have rested enough and recovered our chakra. Waiting for Naruto is a waste of time."

"Sure. Be careful." Jiraiya nodded his head. "I will wait for Naruto here and we will follow you later."

Gaara entered the gate, followed by Temari and Kankurou. As they left, Shikamaru glanced at the chicken, wondering how such a weak creature could be so hard to catch.

"This place is strange." He muttered, "I wonder what's on the other side of the door."

"Something stranger for sure." Jiraiya said, "That's why it's called the Tower of Babel."

Shikamaru looked at the chicken, which was still crowing, and sighed, "I hope that chicken doesn't appear again."

"Who knows." Jiraiya shrugged with a smirk. "We might meet it on the next floor. In a large number."

The strategist couldn't help but sigh at that thought.

"Troublesome."

[HOTD] Chapter 65 – No Zombies = Good Life

"Mmmghhhh♥!"

A muffled sound escaped her lips followed by loud slurping noise. She kept sucking my cock until I finished spilling everything inside her mouth.

Pulling away, she opened her mouth showing a large amount of semen before gulping loudly. Then, she showed me that nothing was left, which looked so lewd.

"Haaah~♥ So delicious~♥" she said lustfully, licking remaining droplets dripping down corner of her mouth afterwards.

"That indeed looks delicious."

"Kya!"

Miss Shizuka's voice rang from behind me, surprising Saya who was still kneeling before me. I turned around and saw the nurse wearing a string blue swimsuit. Her boobs jiggled when she moved.

Giggling, she also knelt in front of me, blowing cold air to my erect cock. The sudden sensation made my cock twitch.

"Fufufu, let me show you how to give a good paizuri."

My cock slid between her massive pair of breasts and disappeared immediately. Her bosom eclipsed my shaft entirely.

"Wow, i-it's swallowed!" Saya widened her eyes in surprise. She stared in awe at what Miss Shizuka just did effortlessly.

"Enjoy watching, Saya-chan." Miss Shizuka smiled at the young woman beside her.

And so, she started moving.

"Ohhh—"

The softness felt totally different from Saya's. If hers felt like a pillow, Miss Shizuka's was heaven itself. Just the perfect kind of plumpness. 

Unlike Saya's small and slim figure, Miss Shizuka possessed a curvaceous voluptuous body combined with a large rack jutting proudly. A goddamn sexy woman, I had to say.

It looked mesmerizing. Even I was captivated seeing it rubbing my cock sensually.

"It seems like you enjoy it a lot." Saya complained sourly after catching glimpses of my expressions. "Heh, it doesn't matter, though. He would choose me sooner or later," She added confidently.

"Sure. Come here."

I chuckled and pulled her closer, pinching her nipple and earning a delightful squeak from her. She pouted and squirmed as I continued fondling her breasts playfully. Then, I shoved my finger into her slit and explored inside of her, "Mmnnhg...♥!"

Her breath grew heavier every time I inserted my digit further into her wet pussy.

Not satisfied with that, I began to suck her erect nipple, playing with it using tongue.

"Fufufu, I am jealous that you give Saya attention." Miss Shizuka pouted cutely. "I guess I will end this fast and get my share."

Saying so, she squeezed her boobs using her hands, applying force while pressing my cock even deeper inside the valley. It felt like I was being milked.

Her boobs felt warm against skin; her saliva provided excellent lubrication. She picked up pace gradually accelerating each stroke. The pleasure increased tenfold compared to earlier attempts. Her movements became smoother and faster.

"Mnnnaaahhh~♥ Mnnffuuaahhh~♥"

Meanwhile, Saya's moan got louder.

'Damn! I am so close.'

"Are you about to cum?" Miss Shizuka asked sweetly whilst glancing upwards expectantly.

"Yes." I replied shortly. Both of my hands were occupied with fingering Saya and twisting her nipple alternatively.

"I see." She smiled knowingly and proceeded to increase her teasing once more. "Come on~ Cum inside my big breasts~ Shoot your thick seed on me~ Make sure every drop goes straight into my cleavage~♥"

As if hypnotized by those seductive words coming out of her mouth, my cock throbbed intensely and shot thick streams of sperm all over her chest without restraint.

"Mnngghhh!" Miss Shizuku gasped loudly as spurts of sticky fluid landed directly on her chest and dribbled down towards lower regions below.

"Kyaaaa!?"

I ignored Saya's scream as I thrust upward forcefully, sending jets of semen directly against Miss Shizuka's breasts and chin. The thick ropes splattered across her large bust leaving traces behind as evidence of ejaculation completed.

Saya collapsed weakly next to the busty blonde as she squirted. Her eyes dazed; legs quivering uncontrollably.

A blonde covered in cum and pinkette drenched in her own juices lay sprawled nearby me.

It was such a breathtakingly arousing scene. Something forbidden yet tantalizingly tempting; enticing me greatly. My conscience told me that I shouldn't indulge further, however my primal instincts screamed otherwise urging me onward.

No one besides us was in this vast ocean. 

Nothing prevented me from taking advantage of the situation presented before my eyes. No witnesses nor repercussions whatsoever. 

All worries evaporated instantaneously replaced by sheer animalistic instinct driving me forth towards the ultimate goal set ahead — procreation.

But, unfortunately, there were chores I had to do.

"Phew, let's stop here for a bit." I breathed out slowly, "It's time for me to steer the ship."

"Fufufu, okay." Miss Shizuka giggled, scooping my cum from her cleavage and licked it, "But I won't let you escape like this. I also want proper service, you know?"

"Hmph! I-I guess I'll help too. Don't expect anything from me, o-okay?"

'Hah, another busy day ahead. It's so damn good.'

I smiled and moved to the bridge after putting on my pants. Saeko was driving it with nothing but black micro bikini covering her slim body.

"Sis, time to change."

"Oh, is it time?" She looked at me. Her beautiful purple eyes stared at me lovingly, making me unable to take mine off her beauty. "Very well. Brother, please stand there."

Nodding obediently, I positioned myself next to the wheel, holding it lightly to stabilize the ship course. And then, for some reason, she knelt in front of me and pulled my pants, freeing my cock that was still dirty by saliva and semen.

I looked down and she stared at me while licking her lips hungrily.

"Did you think I would miss their loud moans? I also want your semen, brother." Saying so, she kissed the tip gently, tasting my member.

Oh, yeah, the wall separating the bride and the outside weren't exactly soundproof, and there weren't curtains either.

I guess my little brother had to work hard satisfying these hungry hyenas.

And so I controlled the ship while getting a head from my beloved sister. Life in the apocalypse was so damn good as long as there was a sexy moan and not a zombie's groan.

[HOTD] Chapter 64 – Sea Life

Dungeon's plotline is half done. I will be able to upload new chapter tomorrow.

For now enjoy these 2 chapters of HOTD. I appreciate your understanding!

***

Saeko parked the yacht not far from the beach and lowered the ramp, as if knowing what I wanted to say. With our humvee's horsepower, it should be able to pass it.

Miss Shizuka drove carefully across the ramp, aligning herself perfectly with the narrow space available ahead of her. 

As expected, the width of the yacht was capable of fitting the bulky vehicle. With careful movements, it succeeded in boarding the ship without damaging anything in sight.

"Perfect!" She exclaimed joyfully after completing the task. "That should be more than enough space!"

After parking our ride securely on the yacht, I went upstairs and met Saeko.

She wrapped her arms around my neck and pressed her wet body against mine intimately while standing on tiptoes.

"Oh, brother." She cooed affectionately. Her sweet breath caressed my earlobe sensually. "Did you enjoy watching me?"

Separating away from me, she posed seductively. Her hand on her hip, highlighting her beautiful curve. 

The water dripped down her sexy nape to her large boobs, trapped between them before continuing to flow through her smooth stomach and down to her barely-covered private part.

My dick stirred, asking me to claim her right now.

'Control yourself.' I breathed in slowly and exhaled deeply several times before replying calmly, "Yeah, of course, sis."

I walked closer until our faces separated by a few inches. My eyes locked firmly onto her own captivating violet irises shining brightly under the sunlight.

Our faces were so dangerously close together, almost kissing distance apart. My heartbeat rose rapidly. In contrast, hers remained calm and composed like the serene surface of an endless pool of pure crystalline waters.

Then...

"What are you doing?!" Saya's voice rang loudly from the side.

And I kissed Saeko while pulling her closer to me. My hand on her boob and ass, kneading them passionately, eliciting a muffled moan from her.

"Pervert!"

We both glanced at the pinkette while our tongues intertwined sensually, exchanging saliva freely amidst each passing moment. Only breaking the kiss after a few seconds.

At this point, Saya covered her face with her hands. However, the gaps between her fingers betrayed her curiosity.

Smirking, Saeko spoke first.

"Fufufu~ Isn't this normal? Brother has always helped us with his reliable dick." Her tone became husky while whispering to me naughtily. "Don't you agree, brother?"

"Yeah. It's natural to make babies after securing our safety. We need to make sure humanity survives by creating lots of them." I replied jokingly.

"Right?" Saeko giggled. "I'd love to have your baby, brother."

"Y-You!" Saya pointed her finger accusatively before approaching me. She tiptoeing to match my height. Her face contorted with anger. "It's not appropriate to talk about things like that! How shameless!"

"Why? Am I wrong?" I crossed my arm.

"Yes, you are! There is no reason for us to create a baby in the middle of this disaster! What kind of man are you?!"

"One that made you moans."

"Hyan!♥"

I jokingly slapped her butt and she let out a cute yelp. Her face reddened in embarrassment and anger, "P-Pervert!"

"Hm~ I don't mind making babies too." Miss Shizuka chimed in as she entered the bride, "But aren't we going to sail right now? I have filled the tank."

Right, we were still on the shore. This wasn't the time for messing around.

With a quick command to Saeko, the yacht's motor turned on again.

It was time for us to sail.

***

Vwoom...

The wind blew strongly as the yacht cruised steadily across vast open blue sea stretching beyond horizon.

Waves crashed against the pink yacht creating rhythmic sound accompanying gentle rocking sensation beneath our feet. Warm sunlight bathed us warmly from above. Everything felt surreal.

Right now, Saeko was in charge of driving. We created a 1 hour shift. This yacht wouldn't sail automatically, so we needed to watch where the ship sailed.

Before setting off, we checked everything inside the ship first, including cabins and storage. We found some canned foods and water, but strangely no one was inside. Though, there were photos of the owner.

A couple in their late 30s and early 40s. The two looked happy together.

'I will use your yacht to escape from Japan.' I apologized in my heart.

Maybe the couple was afraid of the zombies and made a terrible mistake leaving the yacht. Hence, they got zombified and wandered somewhere out there.

But it was fortunate for us, wasn't it?

I laid down on a recliner on deck and relaxed myself fully.

"Slurp~♥"

Hmm?

I opened my eyes and looked down.

My cock was unexpectedly in Saya's mouth. She knelt down in front of me, only wearing pink panties, and bobbed her head rhythmically. My hardening length pushed deeper into her throat.

"Mmmmppghh~♥"

"Mngh.."

Tits?! My erection got enveloped in a soft embrace. I felt those familiar pairs of meat pillows moving up and down on my crotch.

"What are you doing?" I asked as I lifted myself, prompting Saya to pull herself from my cock.

"I-It's not like I'm enjoying this, y-you know!" She answered nervously whilst averting gaze shyly. "B-Besides, you didn't wear anything and got an erection, so..."

"So you think it's a good idea to give me paizuri and blowjobs?"

"N-No! I-It's... Uhmm.." Stuttering weakly under my scrutiny, she stopped talking altogether shortly afterwards and simply stared awkwardly at my cock.

I chuckled at her answer. She was so cute.

When I slapped her butt earlier, I could feel her excitement through her clothes. She was a bit wet when she watched me making out with Saeko.

"S-Shut up and accept it, idiot." She ordered, shoving my member between her big boobs again.

Her lewd expression betrayed her words, however.

Pleasure coursed through my veins whenever those pillowy mounds rubbed against sensitive parts of my shaft deliciously.

"Mngh..." Saya groaned cutely. Her eyes focused intently on the task at hand—massaging my rod lodged between her boobs.

'She improved a lot since the first time.'

I held her head softly, encouraging her further. Her face reddened visibly under my attention but continued nonetheless.

We locked our stare at each other as she continued stroking me expertly with those incredible tits alone.

She slurped messily from tip all the way down to base while constantly keeping eye contact. This allowed me to witness firsthand just how erotic and sexy she really was during these acts.

Before long, I could feel an impending orgasm rising deep within myself. My breathing quickened considerably as pleasure intensified throughout my entire body.

"I am about to cum. Take it all inside your mouth or on your boobs."

She paused momentarily hearing my words then resumed pumping faster than ever before.

I shot thick ropes of seed straight into her mouth without warning, causing some excess spillage onto her chest. But nevertheless, she still kept sucking regardless until nothing remained inside.

[HOTD] Chapter 63 – Saya’s Training

We moved closer to the cluster of zombies.

I guided her hands and taught her properly about shooting the crossbow while holding her in my arm. Her hand trembled in fear.

"Calm down." I whispered softly, massaging her shoulder gently to relieve tension building up inside muscles throughout the entire body causing anxiety symptoms.

Eventually, after several moments passed, Saya relaxed completely. Then I began explaining the basics step by step starting from aiming process up till trigger mechanism activation procedures.

"Just press this part." I gently poked between her fingers, "Aim through the scope."

She followed my instructions diligently without uttering a single word, nodding periodically every now and then whenever she understood what I meant.

And then...

Woosh!

The bolt pierced through the zombie's skull cleanly. Its corpse floated aimlessly beneath waves lapping rhythmically against shoreline rocks nearby.

Saya screamed loudly in excitement.

"Yeah! I did it!"

"Good girl." I patted her head lightly.

Despite not being trained extensively prior to the apocalypse event happening, she learned quickly. This time, I still helped her, guiding her arms as she pulled the trigger.

"But don't lower your guard. Quickly reload the arrow. The zombies are coming here due to your voice."

"Kyaa!"

Three zombies managed to surface on the beach. Luckily, they were slow enough, giving enough time to reload. Or it was supposed to be so.

"Uh..."

Saya struggled to pull the string. She even cursed out loud, but to no avail.

This was the crossbow's weakness. It took time to reload, around a few seconds. Normal people like Saya would even take more than that, especially when panicked.

To those who said the crossbow was a good weapon for the zombie apocalypse, try to reload one first. This was why guns were better because even normal people could reload it easily with a bit of practice.

"Use the handgun on your holster. It's better to change to a revolver when the zombies are approaching."

Saya hurriedly pulled her handgun and fired randomly toward the nearest zombie. I didn't hold her back, letting her practice how to fight herself, but I was ready to slash when the zombie got too close.

Bang bang!

Two bullets flew toward the zombie, one hitting the head while the other missed.

"Aim steadily, don't pull the trigger if you aren't sure that you will hit it. And most importantly..."

I waited until the zombies got close, slashing their necks when they entered my range.

"Take care of your surroundings." I finished my advice.

There was no point in shooting randomly, wasting bullets on pointless actions. If she ever found herself facing multiple opponents at once, especially when dealing with slow zombies like this, conserving ammunition and avoiding being surrounded should always come first priority above anything else.

But that was enough training. I quickly took care of the zombies approaching us.

After killing some, it seemed there were no more zombies.

I pulled a flashbang from my vest and threw it as far as I could. Because I used full strength, it traveled over 100 meters in the distance in just 2 seconds before exploding with a loud sound accompanied by bright light.

That would handle the zombie that got attracted by Saya's gunshot.

With everything taken care of, I looked at her and asked, "How do you feel?"

Breathing heavily, Saya looked at me with eyes full of complaints, "Worst."

"Great. That means you're alive." I smirked, ruffling her hair playfully causing her cheeks to redden immediately.

Saya's face contorted angrily but remained quiet afterwards.

We returned to the humvee and began to prepare for swimming.

Our backpack would also act as a floating device so we would carry them on our back. Ideally, only I had to go to the yacht and bring it closer, and so I suggested that.

However...

"You have done too much for us, brother. Let me swim to the yacht and bring it closer."

Saeko unexpectedly disagreed. "You saved our lives multiple times now. Let me help. I want to do something as your sister."

"Uhm... Sure, okay." I nodded dumbfoundedly.

Honestly, I didn't expect such an insistence from Saeko.

I asked whether she could drive a boat, and she answered that she could. It was relatively easier than planes anyway.

After that, I gave her enough fuel in her backpack, just around 1L in a pet bottle, while she took off her clothes, leaving her in black laced bras and sext thong.

She grinned smugly after noticing my hungry stare, "See you later."

Splash!

Without waiting longer, she dived into water and swam swiftly toward the ship. I had to bear a suspicious gaze from Saya.

"Tch, pervert."

I rolled my eyes, "Yes, yes. Said someone who begged me to fuck her hard in the library while moaning loudly."

Saya's face reddened immediately. She sputtered incomprehensibly and slapped my chest repeatedly while shouting profanities at me. Of course, I simply dodged all blows thrown her way.

"Stop saying nonsense!" She roared furiously at me before pointing angrily towards the yacht on the sea, "Just focus on protecting senior Saeko!"

"I am. You're distracting me." I said nonchalantly, observing everything on the water through the crossbow's scope.

Miss Shizuka giggled at our antics. While Saya turned around with pouty lips.

Fortunately, there were still no zombies around Saeko. She swam pretty fast, and perhaps she could even win a medal in the Olympics for her amazing swim ability. Maybe.

Saeko climbed the ladder and waved at us from the yacht.

"Phew, she arrived safely." Miss Shizuka said while clapping her hand in relief.

"Yeah. Now, let's watch her start the boat engine."

Not long after, I saw Saeko entering the cockpit. The pink yacht moved slightly to the left.

"It worked." I smiled happily.

Slowly, Saeko operated the yacht and moved it here. She didn't put the fuel I gave her so the ship must've had some left before getting abandoned by its previous owner.

When the yacht got closer, I noticed that we might fit the humvee in the back area. Moreover, there was a ramp there, possibly for jet ski. We could put the humvee in that spot and use the ramp to carry the humvee from the edge of the beach.

"Hmmm~ We can bring the car in." I said.

"That's awesome news!" Saya commented enthusiastically.

Fortunately, no more zombies appear, although I thought we might meet some on the sea when sailing.

I couldn’t be more careful than now.

[Dungeon] Chapter 65 – Gatekeeping is Not Allowed!

A short chapter this time.

***

Cain didn't quite like it. This time, the Devils were the ones going back before looking at the loot dropped by Dullahan.

'Sirzechs... I even prepared the special monster in the space between floor 2-1 and floor 2-2. Why are you going back so soon?'

He looked at the Devils who had already reached the exit gate and entered the Hub.

As they returned, Cain decided to ask them immediately by using his avatar. He opened his eyes, seeing Sirzechs leading his injured sister out with a worried look. His expression was totally different from when there was the ninja group in front of him.

"Hello." Cain greeted them, stopping them in their tracks. "That was a bit fast. Did you have a fight with the other party?"

He glanced at Rias and Akeno, who were clearly injured.

However, acting as an oblivious third party, Cain could only guess, "Fighting against another party inside a dungeon is pretty normal, especially when there is a rare item drop. I am even tempted to enter right now due to the announcement."

Sirzechs, who had calmed down, smiled at him. He was still worried about Rias, but he trusted Akeno and Grayfia to handle the situation. They had a long-lasting relationship, and they were close friends.

"Unfortunately, that's not the case. We didn't fight the other party for item drop or something." The Lucifer said, "However, you mentioned an announcement? May I know what that's about?"

"Right." Cain nodded, opening the chatroom. "Look at the chat. You will see the details there."

Sirzechs, who hadn't joined the chatroom yet, turned to his sister. Rias nodded and opened the chatroom before widening his eyes.

"It seems there is a special monster in floor 2-1 where we have been that will drop a Rare weapon. Maybe it's hidden behind one of the doors or the corridor toward the floor 2-2. It was a sudden announcement, so there might be a lot of people coming here if they read it."

Cain nodded at Rias' words.

"The announcement was around 20 minutes ago. I guess people are still preparing, so they will enter in 10 minutes or so." Cain explained, "Maybe you can go back to floor 2-2 and trace your way back to find the monster right now. When you finish one part of the floor, you're allowed to continue from the latest checkpoint for one time."

Rias' face lit up after hearing his explanation, but Sirzechs shook his head.

"Sorry, but we didn't enter floor 2-2 so we need to start from the beginning. And my sister is injured right now, so we're thinking of stopping here. It's a shame that we can't compete for the rare weapon, though."

"Truly." Cain shook his head, "A rare weapon can increase your strength by two fold if used correctly. However, safety first, right?"

Sirzechs noted the information. He didn't know much about rare weapons or whatever, but if it was that important then he would have to visit the dungeon again later.

Doubling someone's strength was not a joke. It was enough to change the tide of the war. He didn't know what the weapon would look like, but it was definitely something that everyone would try to get their hands on. After all, who could resist something so tempting?

However...

"The other party might already find the hidden monster by now. So returning there is kinda useless." He muttered as he glanced at Cain, who nodded in agreement.

"But there is no rule you can't snatch the sword from them." Cain shrugged, "I won't stop you from doing that if it happens. The strong wins."

"Interesting." Sirzechs laughed. "Then I shall take my leave. Thank you for your hospitality."

With a nod, Cain waved them goodbye. He watched them enter the gate and disappear from sight before vanishing from that place.

It's a bit strange that the two groups didn't fight each other. They just... fought together? That was unexpected.

Cain sighed at his failed plan. It seemed like no one understood the Rare Weapon's importance at the moment. They were still too ignorant, after all.

'Guess I have to take this in my hand.'

Promoting his dungeon was the most important thing at the moment.

So far, there was no one that could defeat his dungeon and claim the reward. That's why no one was talking about the item drops outside. The only ones who knew about the item drops kept it to themselves, just like Jiraiya earlier.

He didn't know whether they were hiding the fact or not, but he wanted his dungeon to be famous.

The challengers' greed will drive them to gatekeep any good drops they could find and hide it from the others. But, sooner or later, there will be people who will share the information. And then, his dungeon will be crowded with challengers.

"If there is no one willing to share, then I will be the one who does it."

Coincidentally, he could make any kind of equipment as a reward. So, what kind of weapon should he make?

Cain opened the list of weapons and began to think. In the end, he chose the best option.

A weapon that would make any man scream 'Mom, I want that!' when they saw it.

"A Lightsaber?" He grinned. "I don't think anyone has it in their arsenal. Let's see who will get enticed!"

[HOTD] Chapter 62 – Finding Ship

Morning arrived.

I drank a lukewarm coffee as I woke up and went to the balcony once again as the others were still sleeping.

Being on a higher floor, the wind felt colder. The groans of zombies outside the hangar made the day in this apocalypse. Without them, I would think this was a normal morning with the gentle sunlight.

'It's annoyingly noisy.'

Those living dead people really liked the sea. They wandered toward the shore and fell one after another into the ocean as if they were possessed by suicidal demons.

After looking at it, I noticed something in the distance. Something colorful floating on the water surface.

'I think it's a... ship?'

A small yacht stranded not far from the airport, maybe a few meters from the nearest port. I stared at the ship quietly, trying to assess the situation.

'That's an odd color, pink...'

It was a yacht with vibrant colors painted all over its hull and decks resembling those of carnival floats usually seen during festive occasions.

But how could a yacht get stranded?

It wasn't too far away from the edge, but...

"There are too many zombies around it."

I need some ways to clear the zombies around the edge first.

But even then, I would need to jump into the sea to reach the yacht, and that was dangerous. The height of the edge from the water was around 10 meters. If I were alone, or only with Saeko, we could jump without a problem, but...

'Saya and Miss Shizuka might break their bones if we jump from such height. We also need to move the fuel we brought as well as our supplies from the humvee, so it seems we need to take a detour.'

From what I could see, we could use the beach path, but that would require us to go to the end of the runway and then circled back. If we managed to reach the end, it should be easy to swim toward the yacht.

"I guess it's time to use one of the fireworks."

I could hear footsteps from behind. It seemed like everyone had awakened. Soon, they joined me in staring at the ocean below us.

Saya whistled loudly before commenting excitedly, "Look at that yacht! Is that the one we will ride?" She asked curiously.

"Wow, it's pink." Miss Shizuka commented. "Such a beautiful color. It reminds me of bubblegum candy!"

Saeko giggled happily whilst looking at the yacht too. "Brother, it looks nice!" she said cheerfully, glancing toward me with a warm smile plastered on face.

I knew they were trying to tease me because the perfect boat we found was pink in color.

"So what do you think?" Saya asked sarcastically. "Can you drive such a pretty ship?"

"Sure, I can," I retorted playfully, "Although... I would prefer one that isn't bright pink. But yeah... Beggar can't be chooser."

They laughed together merrily upon hearing my response.

And so we prepared to go.

When preparing, I explained the route we would take to Miss Shizuka. I also prepared the firework that would be used for distraction. Our chance to succeed was big, or so I hoped.

"Is everything ready?" I asked them.

"All set!" All three women present replied simultaneously. Each carrying a backpack filled with essential items they needed to survive, including food and water.

It was all done in case we couldn't return to humvee and had to move directly to the yacht.

Miss Shizuka started the humvee's engine.

Vroom—

The vehicle began moving slowly as the door opened. I prepared near the door to kill the zombies attracted by the sound. When the zombies got close, they attacked, and I stabbed their heads one by one with my sword.

There weren't many zombies. So we soon cleared the road outside, allowing Miss Shizuka to move again.

"Get on, brother." Saeko shouted at me.

I quickly jumped on and closed the door as soon as possible. Miss Shizuka steered the humvee again, accelerating fast to reach the runway. Many zombies noticed the noise and gave chase from behind, although none came in front of us thanks to the humvee's intimidating size.

"Start moving toward the beach!" I instructed. "Saya, the fireworks."

"On it!"

Miss Shizuka stepped on the gas pedal harder making tires screech violently against the asphalt.

At that time, Saya lit the firework and pointed it toward the other side of the airport.

Whoosh!

An explosion rang loudly followed shortly afterward by colorful trails streaking upwards into the runway before exploding again with a loud bang.

BANG! BAM!

CRACKLE! BOOM!

Such explosions caught the attention of countless shambling creatures roaming nearby airport grounds, causing their attention to shift away from the humvee. They ran toward the loud noise like a moth toward flames.

"It works!" Saya said excitedly. Her expression turned smugger after witnessing the effectiveness of her handiwork.

The zombie crowd dispersed quickly leaving our path relatively free from obstacles, allowing our humvee to move through the runway easily.

Finally, we reached the beach. No zombies around.

"We got lucky!" Miss Shizuka exclaimed joyfully, slowing down slightly.

"Yes, but our work hasn't finished yet." I warned, scanning the surrounding area cautiously through windows.

There were still zombies in the sea and we couldn't get rid of them all unless we shot every single one.

Most of them had already drowned when falling from the cliff above. Some died quickly due to being unable to swim well enough while others struggled fruitlessly in shallow depths.

Unfortunately, there remained several individuals stubbornly clinging to life by staying afloat. Those would need some clean headshots.

"Wait here. Saya, can you shoot a crossbow?" I asked curiously.

These zombies couldn't move a lot in the water, so they were perfect for target practice. I wanted Saya to be able to protect herself too.

"I've never done it." She answered nervously.

I handed the crossbow to her. "Then learn it. I'll help you. I can't always be nearby to protect you."

"O-Okay..." Her voice trailed off uncertainty before continuing quietly, "Show me how..."

'What a bad liar.' I snorted silently. Her acting skill wasn't high enough to trick me.

She was nervous and afraid but still pushed herself because she wanted me to rely on her a little bit more, and I respected that effort greatly.

[Dungeon] Chapter 64 – Unbelievable!

I managed to finish 1 chapter! Here we go!

***

Akeno nodded and gritted her teeth. "Yes. It seems like it's not the same monster that we fought before. It's much stronger than the last time."

Meanwhile, Naruto and Gaara were the ones attacking the Dullahan. The sand controlled by the Kazekage wrapped around it like a snake, restraining its movements. Gaara's sand was much stronger than the last time he fought. It was dense and heavy, making it hard for the monster to move.

However, it still wasn't enough to stop him completely. The Dullahan struggled to move its arm and swing its sword. A huge slash flew out, cutting through the sand wall.

"It's still not enough!" Gaara muttered as he tried to stop it. His sand was powerful, but the Dullahan's strength was too much for it.

"I'll help you, Gaara." Naruto said. He made a hand sign and used his Shadow Clone Technique.

"Kage Bunshin no jutsu!"

Several clones appeared next to him, and they all charged towards the monster. They attacked it with all kinds of techniques, but nothing worked against the Dullahan.

However, they did manage to drag the headless knight down from his horse. The blond boy and his clones continued to attack the monster, but it was too strong.

"Futon! Kamaitachi!"

Suddenly, a strong gust of wind blew past Naruto. He turned around and saw Temari swinging her giant fan.

The gale of wind cut through the sand wall, destroying everything in its path. The clones were blown away, but the Dullahan remained unharmed.

"What?!" Temari exclaimed, unable to believe what she had just seen.

"Kill the undead hiding behind the doors first!" Rias quickly ordered, "If the undead is not killed, then Dullahan will keep on regenerating!"

"Oh right!" Naruto realized, and he started to summon his clones. "Shikamaru, help Gaara to stop that monster. I will deal with the undead behind the doors. And Ero Sennin, help us you bastard!"

With that, Naruto ran toward the door. At least two clones were sent to deal with the undead hidden inside.

"Or so he said." Sirzechs muttered as he heard Naruto's words. He looked at Jiraiya who just shrugged. "What a rude student."

"I told you that he's a brat." The Sannin smirked. "Though, he's quite the interesting guy."

Then, he looked at the Devil's leader and grinned widely.

"So, what do you think about helping them?"

"Me? Help them? Hahaha! What a funny joke." Sirzechs laughed, "I'm here only to observe, not to participate."

"Is that so?" Jiraiya chuckled, "Well, I'll just enjoy the show from here too. My student had just finished his training, you see? There is someone he wanted to find. If he can't deal with something like this, then he won't be able to face that person."

The Sannin looked at the battlefield in front of him. Everyone was busy fighting the monsters, using their own techniques and skills. He had to admit that this could become a good training ground for Naruto and the rest of the shinobis. 

However, it was too dangerous for them to stay here when there was someone else like the person beside him.

As he thought about that, the battle became more intense.

Rias' power of destruction surged forth, enveloping her entire body. She unleashed a powerful blast at the Dullahan, but the creature managed to block her attack using his sword.

With a swift movement, the headless knight rushed toward Rias, judging that she was the most dangerous DPS in the area. He disappeared from where he was, shaking the sand off from his body.

Akeno tried to intercept the Dullahan but she was too slow. She summoned her lightning spear and threw it, but it was useless. The monster cut the spear in half with one swing of his sword and continued his charge.

"Rias!"

Akeno cried out in alarm, but it was too late.

Dullahan's flaming sword descended upon the red-haired girl. Rias could only watch in horror as the blade came down on her, knowing that there was no way to evade or block the attack.

However, at that moment, all she could see was red.

"I won't let you do that."

A calm voice rang out, and the next instant, the Dullahan disappeared on the spot, eaten by red destruction energy.

Sirzechs slowly lowered his hand and sighed. He stood in front of the girl he had saved, his back facing her.

"Are you okay, Rias?"

"B-Brother? Y-Yeah, I am okay." She nodded her head in response, still in shock at what had happened just a moment ago. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it." The man smiled.

Jiraiya narrowed his eyes upon watching the spectacle. Everything happened so fast. The man next to him suddenly disappeared and reappeared in front of that girl. He was sure that he couldn't catch up with his speed if the man seriously attacked him. It was as if time had stopped for a few seconds.

'Is this guy also a space-time Ninjutsu user?' He thought to himself. 'Or is he just fast enough to make it seem like teleportation? And to think he can defeat that monster in just one attack. How terrifying.'

Whatever the case may be, one thing is clear to him now: this man is really strong. Maybe even stronger than Tsunade or Orochimaru, or anyone he knew.

"Hey, what are we supposed to do next?" Shikamaru asked Naruto's real body who was busy killing the undead behind the door. "We have defeated most of the monsters in the hall."

"Hmm there should be a voi-"

[Congratulations for clearing floor 2-1! Will you continue to floor 2-2? Yes/no]

[Note: You will start from the random respawn point in case you enter again after returning. Please choose your choice carefully!]

"-ce. Ah! There it is, there it is!" Naruto grinned. "Hey, what's the next floor?"

"Let me see..." Shikamaru looked at the translucent window in front of him. "Hmm, we can go to the next floor, but it will spawn us randomly. We can't choose our own starting point. Because we haven't checked yet, it's better to continue. What about you guys?"

He asked the Devils' group.

"We are going to con-"

"Ah, go ahead. We will stop here for today."

Before Rias could finish her sentence, Sirzechs had already spoken.

"What? Brother?" Rias turned to look at him with a surprised expression on her face.

The redhead was about to say something when she saw his serious expression. He was looking at the Ninja's group, especially the white-haired man who stood next to him just now.

"We have done enough exploration today." He smiled gently. "There are a lot of reports you need to make. Not to mention, I have to call a meeting with my colleagues. Let's stop here."

"Y-Yes." Rias nodded her head reluctantly. She could feel the hidden meaning behind his words.

"Then, Grayfia. Let's return home."

"As you wish." Grayfia bowed her head respectfully and they walked toward the exit.

[HOTD] Chapter 61 – The Horror of Apocalypse

Writing Dungeon System is harder than HOTD for some reason. I will take today off from Dungeon to create some plotline to make it easier.

***

The sun hovered over the horizon.

I stood on the balcony on the top floor of the hangar, looking out towards the ocean. From this height, the whole airport area looked rather large, stretching outwards endlessly into a vast expanse beyond imagination.

Waves crashed against shorelines rhythmically creating soothing melodies that reverberated throughout air.

Beyond blue waters lay a seemingly endless field of nothingness extending further away than the eye could perceive.

Beautiful sight indeed but also somewhat frightening if I might add because nothing was visible aside from water itself. Not even the faintest outline of the landmass could be seen anywhere nearby.

And it reminded me once again about the current situation happening everywhere else across the globe.

Zombies, attracted by loud waves, stumbled into the sea one after another. They were the reason why I didn't act immediately and instead decided to rest for the day and let them kill themselves.

I waited patiently while watching countless figures wandering aimlessly within proximity of the shoreline.

"What are you doing?"

Saya called out from behind me causing me to turn around, slightly startled by her sudden presence behind me. She approached silently until standing beside me wearing a similar easy-to-move outfit like Saeko with a harness around her chest, emphasizing her boobs nicely.

Noticing my gaze, she narrowed her eyes and hid her bountiful chest, "What are you looking at?"

I smiled at her, "I just never expected to see you in that bodysuit-like clothes. It looks good on you."

She grumbled under her breath before sighing, "Just tell me already... What do you intend to do?"

"For now? Rest?" I answered and leaned against the railing, "Next? I wanted to get some boats from around that area."

I pointed toward the west side of Tokonosu City's coast which extended further outward compared to the east side of the city which was more developed.

"I see," Saya crossed her arms beneath her bosoms. Her eyes trailed upward and downwards slowly examining the entire figure of mine thoroughly before settling upon my face.

"What?"

This time, I imitated her with narrowing eyes.

Irritated, Saya stomped her foot angrily. Her cheeks flushed red from embarrassment.

"N-Nothing!" she snapped back at me. Then muttered softly afterward, "...you've changed somehow..."

"Really? How?" I asked curiously.

"W-Well... Y-You know... You seem different lately... Like y-you became manlier or something... No... That doesn't make sense..." Saya stuttered awkwardly, unable to express her thoughts clearly.

"You mean appearance-wise?"

"Hmmm..." After hearing my reply, Saya furrowed her brow trying hard to find a proper word describing changes occurring within myself.

We only knew each other for 2 weeks, including school days, yet she noticed something about me?

'Oh... Right.'

The power of sex could change someone drastically. This might be a bit weird but it was undeniable. She must have felt it when I ravished her yesterday.

'Was I too rough?' I chuckled internally thinking of the possibility that a young innocent schoolgirl such as herself ended up enjoying intense sexual activity without realizing the consequences involved.

It wasn't me who changed, but her perspective.

"If you can't put it into words, then don't force yourself. I understand your feelings." I replied nonchalantly.

"Tch, of course, you do..." Saya scoffed, rolling her eyes sarcastically. "But yeah.... Never mind... I just wanted to ask about your next plan, that's all!"

With a huff, she turned and walked away leaving me alone on the rooftop balcony overlooking the vast ocean beyond the horizon.

A moment later however she stopped halfway through the door leading inside the hangar building behind us.

"Oh right, I forgot to tell you something important," Saya added while turning around, "Senior Saeko told me to call you downstairs later."

"My sister?" I tilted my head sideways. What did she need?

"I dunno... Anyway, it's probably urgent," Saya shrugged casually.

'Hmm~ I wonder if she needs something from me.'

Well, I would know if I met her. She should be maintaining our swords on the humvee. I went down to meet her.

Just as expected, she sat on the humvee's hood, polishing my katana carefully with smooth circular motions. Upon seeing my arrival, Saeko put the weapon down slowly before giving me a soft smile.

"Sorry for interrupting you when you're resting."

"That's alright." I shrugged and waved my hand dismissively. "Did you need me for something?"

"Ahh..." Saeko lowered her eyelids briefly and looked elsewhere uncomfortably. Seemingly struggling whether or not to continue speaking further or not. "I just wanted to ask where we are going to go. I know that we're going overseas but you haven't specified our destination yet."

"Ah..." I nodded knowingly and sat across her, "We're heading to the US. Miss Shizuka's friend, whose house had weapons we currently use, is in the US. Not to mention, father and mother are also there, so..." 

I paused for a moment, thinking deeply. "...We can go there. Or so I thought." 

I concluded and leaned backward.

"...I see." Saeko replied flatly.

It felt weird. She seemed tenser compared usual self. Did she want to stay here instead? Perhaps she had another idea in her mind regarding future actions?

Seeing no reaction from her, I scratched my cheek and continued talking, "You know, I had a plan to rebuild the society before this disaster happened. I planned to make a name for myself and prove my worth."

"Hehe, is that so?" Saeko chuckled quietly. "You were talking as if it's a past tense. Did you find a new goal? Or did you realize something?"

"Something alongside the latter."

No normalcy would return in the end.

Normal society wouldn't return unless T-Virus disappeared completely. I wasn't a specialist. Only a miracle worker could fix everything to its original state.

"But, well, at least we're all alive." I said, "And I will make sure we will only die of old age."

"Die? Old Age? That sounds ridiculous." Saeko grinned broadly, shaking her head gently back forth.

"What's so funny?!" I questioned exasperatedly. "Don't laugh like that!"

"I'm sorry. But you know better than anyone else that we aren't immortal. We all will die eventually. There's nothing funny about it really. I think I've come to realize certain truths since the apocalypse started." Saeko giggled lightly to herself as if reminiscing past memories fondly.

"It feels like ages ago... When we woke up side by side and went to school together." She added softly after taking a deep breath.

Her words hit home instantly, reminding me of the reality I lived in everyday before this.

A normal life full of peace and freedom unlike what existed nowadays.

People became comfortable with the word apocalypse in my modern world. There were many media: novels, movies, or even comics depicting it. Still, none depicted how it truly was, the fear and desperation, how chaotic and confusing the situation could be.

Nothing came close enough except actual experience itself.

The sight that I saw in the convenience store earlier was one of them. A person could become so cruel that they would cut another person's limbs and leave them in a storage room along with a chained zombie.

Giving that person a quick death might be a mercy, but I didn't want to risk myself by going inside or shoot that person. That convenience store was silent, so even my suppressed gun would be loud enough to draw zombies' attention.

Risking my companion over giving a stranger a quick mercy? I didn't think that's worth it.

'He would also die in a few minutes anyway. Whether I killed him or not.'

I glanced back toward Saeko once again, noticing that she polished the sword again. She assembled the katana once more and handed it to me, "Here, it's yours."

I took the sword and examined it closely.

Perfect. Even sharper than before.

'Even without maintenance oil, the result is excellent. I should buy the oil from my shop when we are out in the sea.'

We would move in the morning after resting. No love making session tonight.

[Dungeon] Chapter 63 – Stronger Dullahan

Rias pointed her hand forward and shot a destruction ball again, killing several monsters.

Akeno, on the other hand, summoned a lightning spear and threw it forward. It pierced through dozens of undead, killing them instantly.

"Go!"

Naruto summoned more clones and charged at the enemy. His clones attacked the enemies from different directions, distracting them while he attacked from behind.

Without taking much time, they defeated all zombies and skeletons in the area, prompting for the second waves to arrive. This time, the monsters that came out of the doors were the same, but they looked slightly stronger and bigger.

"The skeletons are wearing metal armor?" Shikamaru noticed. "That's going to be a pain in the ass."

"Troublesome." Kankurou agreed. "We'll have to take care of these guys one at a time."

Temari was already moving, swinging her fan. She unleashed a powerful wind that sliced through the air, cutting the bones of the skeletons and killing the zombies.

Gaara's sand moved swiftly, stopping the large zombie from approaching. However, the big zombie slammed its fist on the ground, creating a shockwave that sent the sand flying.

Gaara immediately reformed his defense and sent the sand to attack again.

Shikamaru made a hand sign and a shadow appeared from beneath him, spreading out in all directions. He used his Shadow Sewing Technique to bind the enemies in place before sending his shadow needles to pierce through their heads.

Naruto also made a shadow clone and multiplied again.

"I'm not losing to you!" He yelled at Rias, summoning another Rasengan. "Rasengan!"

The ball of swirling chakra slammed into a group of zombies and skeletons, destroying them completely. But, there were still more of them coming.

He glanced at the red-haired girl and saw her shooting another destruction ball.

"Another one!" He shouted, making another clone. "Rasengan!"

The two of them continued to fight side by side, competing against each other. Blue and red balls kept on destroying monsters in their way. It was a competition that became a spectacle for Jiraiya and Sirzechs who stood near the gate, observing the fight.

"Your disciple is quite talented. He reminds me of someone." Sirzechs spoke as he looked at Naruto. "I am impressed, but I don't think he can surpass Rias."

Jiraiya laughed at his remark and shook his head.

"Hahaha, Naruto is still holding back a lot. If he truly uses his full power, then the situation will be a bit different."

The Devil's leader raised his eyebrows and looked at the white-haired man.

"That so? I have to see it with my own eyes then."

Back to the fight, Shikamaru was getting annoyed. The monsters kept on coming and coming. It seemed like there was no end to them. Even though he was using his Shadow Stitching Technique to bind the enemy in place, it didn't last long.

'There are too many enemies!'

Worse, two people just watched the situation without helping. He glanced at Jiraiya and Sirzechs who were talking while watching the fight. It was infuriating, especially when he knew how strong Jiraiya was.

'Damn old man. I know you're strong, but at least help us a bit!'

"Kage bunshin no jutsu!"

Suddenly, Naruto's voice rang out. Shikamaru turned to look at the blond-haired boy and saw him surrounded by hundreds of clones. It seemed like he wanted to end this wave quickly. His clones rushed towards the monsters, attacking them with all kinds of techniques. 

Some used taijutsu, others used weapons or ninjutsu, but most of them used the Shadow Clone Technique.

The monsters were overwhelmed by the sheer number of clones, and they started to retreat. Seeing this, Shikamaru sighed in relief. He didn't have to worry anymore.

"It's ove-"

Just as he muttered that, something ominous appeared from the other side of the room, interrupting him.

It was a tall black knight with a flaming head, holding a huge sword. It wore black armor with red lines running through it. It mounted a headless horse, and its body emitted an aura of death.

Those who had attacked this dungeon before, Naruto and the two Devils, immediately recognized it.

"Dullahan! It's here!" Naruto yelled.

Rias also noticed the monster and prepared her destruction ball. Akeno stood next to her, ready to strike.

Unlike the first run, the Dullahan that appeared right now looked slightly different. The red lines across his armor were brighter than before and his aura was stronger.

"Neigghh!" The horse neighed loudly and stomped its front hooves on the ground.

Then, Dullahan pulled his sword back, preparing to attack.

"Here it comes!"

Dullahan swung his sword horizontally, creating a crescent moon-shaped mana slash. The slash cut through everything in its path, leaving deep gashes on the sand wall that Gaara created.

The kazekage grunted as he controlled the sand to reform the wall, protecting himself and the team from the attack.

"Futon! Goufuu Koujutsu!"

Temari jumped high and swung her fan, creating a powerful wind blade.

The wind blade hit Dullahan, but the armor was too strong. The monster didn't even flinch and continued to charge forward, ignoring the attack.

"Damn it! That thing is tough!" Kankuro cursed as he summoned two humanoid puppets. They ran toward the enemy, but Dullahan swung his sword again and slashed the puppets in half.

"Shadow Sewing!"

Shikamaru extended his shadow and tried to bind Dullahan, but it broke free easily. He clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"Kage Bunshin no jutsu!"

Naruto summoned his clones again and they charged at the Dullahan. They punched and kicked it, but the monster just slashed through them without caring.

"Rasengan!"

The blond-haired boy shot the swirling ball of chakra, but Dullahan blocked it with his sword.

"Damn it!" Naruto cursed, but he didn't give up. He continued to attack, but none of his attacks were working.

"Power of Destruction!"

A red ball flew towards the monster at a fast speed. It destroyed the ground as it travelled.

Seeing it, Dullahan raised his sword. It hummed with blue light as the monster prepared to use his mana slash.

"Go!" Rias shouted, and the destruction ball exploded in front of him, creating a shockwave that sent dust flying everywhere.

But, the explosion didn't harm him at all. In fact, it didn't even scratch his armor.

Dullahan's flame that burned around his headless neck suddenly glowed, and the blue light that shone on his sword became stronger. It gathered more energy and the weapon became sharper than before.

The monster swung his sword and a powerful mana slash flew in Rias' direction.

The red-haired girl's eyes widened in surprise when she saw it coming. She quickly created a barrier, further empowered by Akeno's lightning. But, the attack was so strong that the barrier cracked and broke. Rias and Akeno were blown away by the impact.

"Ugh!"

"Aah!"

They fell on the ground, coughing blood. Their bodies were injured, but they managed to stand up. The barrier managed to protect them from the fatal damage, but the pain was unbearable. It was as if their insides were burning.

"It's stronger than before." Rias muttered, wiping the blood from her mouth with the back of her hand.

[HOTD] Chapter 60 – The Real Goal

Zombies gathered at the gate, and our arrival attracted them to us.

"Hold tight, dear. We're gonna break the fence!" Miss Shizuka exclaimed cheerfully, stepping the gas pedal harder.

Crashh!!

Humvees might be bulky, but they weren't built to be driven straight through solid steel barriers like what we encountered now. 

Our momentum slowed significantly when colliding head-on against a sturdy metal barricade blocking the path ahead.

However, the humvee won. We managed to pierce through and enter the airport area.

The humvee shook and Saya screamed.

"Kyaa!" She grabbed onto my arm tightly and held it close to her chest, burying her face against my bicep, "Ouch...!"

"S-Sorry..." Miss Shizuka apologized guiltily.

"No, it's fine." Saya answered while rubbing her behind.

"Miss Shizuka, keep moving!" I shouted loudly upon seeing an incoming horde approaching from behind us rapidly, "Drive to the hanger! Quickly!"

"O-Okay," the nurse replied hastily.

Screetch!

Our car sped away once again, heading towards the hangar located far ahead. Unfortunately, our tires suddenly started losing traction and spinning uncontrollably for some reason.

"Kyaa!"

"Hold on!" Miss Shizuka tried her best to maintain control over the steering wheel.

The car spun wildly before stopping completely with a loud screeching sound. I quickly grabbed my rifle and jumped out of the car.

"Miss Shizuka, start the car again and go to the hangar first." I commanded firmly, pointing towards a large building nearby.

"I will help you, brother." Saeko jumped off as well, joining me alongside carrying her katana.

"What are you doing!? We need to escape!!!" Saya shouted angrily from inside the humvee. "You idiots!"

But I didn't answer.

BANG!

My gunshot pierced through one zombie skull effortlessly. However, countless more kept following closely afterwards, approaching menacingly from all directions.

"Go!"

"I am trying!" Miss Shizuka shouted back, trying her best to restart the humvee.

After a few tries, the engine finally roared to life again. She accelerated the gas pedal, steering wheel towards the hangar, leaving us alone outside the airport perimeter surrounded by swarms of undead.

I thought I was ready for this, but the reality proved to be harsher than what I initially anticipated.

'Shit! They're coming too fast!'

I fired at the closest zombie's head several times until he dropped dead, falling face first into the pavement beneath my feet.

As soon as one fell, another appeared.

Shooting them was tiring. Fortunately, Saeko's sword was capable enough to take care of those who came near. She cut through their necks swiftly like cutting vegetables.

I could still hear the humvee's noise. We had to stall for more time until they could reach the hangar and bring a plane outside.

If they got ambushed before arriving at a safe place, everyone would die. Zombies didn't possess enough strength or intellect to open a door.

'At least we won't run out of bullets...'

Even so, I had to fire slowly and precisely at each target. Wasting bullets recklessly was stupid.

"Saeko, run toward the hangar on my mark." I shouted loudly, hoping she understood me amidst gunfire being exchanged between us and incoming hordes of zombies. "Reloading, cover me!"

Saeko moved forward and decapitated a couple zombies with precision. Blood splattered everywhere covering her uniform completely red. Some even sprayed directly onto her face but she didn't seem to mind at all.

I emptied a magazine before tossing it into my vest and inserting a new one inside.

'20 shots and 3 full mags remaining...'

Thinking so, I slung my rifle over my back and unsheathed my katana. I fought next to Saeko, stopping the zombies from approaching us. However, their numbers didn't seem to decrease.

In fact, there were more of them coming from the airport like a wave crashing against the shoreline. The endless stream of corpses caused chills throughout my entire body.

At that moment, I could only hear the zombies' groans and our breathing sounds. My eyes widened as I quickly pulled one flashbang from my vest.

"Sis, run!"

The flashbang arched midair toward the center of the zombie cluster. It touched the ground with clanging sounds before releasing deafening noise and blinding lights.

Boom!

That was my cue.

I pulled Saeko's hand and sprinted away toward the hangar at full speed. She looked surprised at my fast movement but nevertheless followed without any complaint.

My adrenaline rush gave me additional strength to drag Saeko's hand tighter as I ran faster than normal, dodging all obstacles blocking my way effortlessly.

The humvee was parked near the entrance of the hangar. There weren't any zombies chasing them. All zombies must've been running toward our former spot. I saw Saya waving her hand from afar calling us desperately.

"Come here!"

Saeko and I finally arrived in front of the hangar. When the door opened wide open, revealing the interior of the building filled with darkness. It was an empty space except for one object standing tall above everything else within view.

An airplane.

'Damn. There is one here!'

My luck finally turned around, but I couldn't rest easy yet.

"Close the door."

Miss Shizuka, who held the controller for the door, pressed it. It closed on its own accord with a press of a button.

However, the process was painfully slow. The zombies in the distance began moving again, attracted by the sound generated from closing the doors.

I quickly pulled the pin of another flashbang and threw it as far as I could away from us. Once again, a loud explosion and bright light occurred which attracted all the zombies.

The door was fully closed after a few seconds.

Now we were safe.

Safe inside this massive building, separated from the outside world thanks to thick walls surrounding us.

I turned around to see a small-sized plane parked right before our eyes. It wasn't anything fancy but definitely usable for escaping to somewhere else where there might be survivors waiting for rescue.

Now, we have another problem.

'We have no pilot.'

Going blindly to the airport without knowing how to fly a plane might be stupid. However, I didn't come here without a plan.

'Airport is usually built near the sea. And the area around it must be clear as it is needed for the landing procedure. Hence...'

There would be boats near here.

My plan since the start wasn't to get a plane but a boat.

So there was no problem at all.

[HOTD] Chapter 59 – To the Airport!

Tokonosu International Airport was far from the police station we were at. Even using a humvee, it would need around 2 hours of travel, that was if the road was empty.

Unfortunately, empty was never the word for Tokonosu anymore since last week.

The worst problem came in form of zombies clustered together around narrow roads. It was troublesome to use Humvee to push them away due to the vehicle size. Moreover, the number of zombies stuck together made the car's movement slower and consumed more fuel.

Also, shooting at zombies from the car would waste our ammo and brought even more to us.

So we had to take another route.

"Ugh, it's so slow." Saya grumbled impatiently.

She was sitting in the backseat behind mine, making herself as comfortable as possible.

However, just as she said, our journey was painfully slow. We were already traveling for two hours and it felt like forever to me. The fuel gauge indicated that there were still plenty of reserves left; however, having too little wouldn't do us any favors when dealing with unexpected situations later.

Besides, according to GPS device installed in the vehicle, the airport was situated somewhere near the coastline area. It was still tens of kilometers away.

"Daiki, should we stop at the gas station first?" Miss Shizuka asked, "We have some reserve fuel in the trunk, but it's better to refuel anyway. There is one nearby."

I nodded my head before speaking out loud, "Sure, let's refuel."

Having more fuel meant more safety for us.

Thus we stopped at a gas station along the street not too far from the city center.

"It's so empty." I commented absentmindedly whilst staring at deserted surroundings, "I was prepared to bring only a barrel to refuel if there are many abandoned cars, but... This is emptier than I imagined."

Although there were a lot of zombies roaming around, there were no signs of people loitering about. Most likely everyone evacuated days ago once news spread about what's going on outside their homes & workplaces.

"I see. It's like a ghost town here." Saeko agreed softly.

We were indeed a bit away from the city's center, more into the countryside but still close enough to the police station.

After arriving at the gas station, we quickly checked on everything important and did necessary preparations before starting to refill the humvee's tank to full.

Because the refueling system needed to pay first, and we got no money, I decided to take a rather extreme solution.

Thud!

"It's open." I grinned as I looked at the register I opened with M1A1's buttstock.

We had no money but didn't mean we wouldn't be taking other valuable things. While the store looked like it had been ransacked, there were still goods like water, soda, beer, and junk food that could survive the apocalypse.

We quickly stocked them on the car and filled it with as much as possible.

Though, just when I thought we could safely get away with a full stomach and fuel tank, a noise rang from the store we were just in.

Thud!

"... elp!"

"What the?" Saya gasped when the second shaking occurred, "W-What is that?"

"It's from inside." Miss Shizuka commented, "Is there a survivor there?"

"I don't know." I admitted truthfully, "If it's a thief or a zombie, I'll take care of it."

"Are you sure?" Saeko asked worriedly, "Shouldn't you let me go instead?"

"Don't worry." I reassured her confidently, patting her shoulder gently, "Stay here and protect Saya and Miss Shizuka. I will deal with whoever is there in an instant."

With that, I entered the store once again. I unsheath my sword carefully while walking slowly through the aisle until reaching the door leading into the storage room where noises originated from earlier.

"...elp! Help!"

When I got closer, the voice became louder.

Taking a deep breath first to calm down nerves, I gripped the doorknob and twisted it clockwise.

Click...

Slowly opening the entrance, I peeked inside and immediately closed it again. I didn't even care about looking twice and stepped away from the door, leaving the store in an hurry.

The other three had already settled in the humvee. I quickly jumped in and turned to Miss Shizuka.

"Let's get going."

"What, you're not going to save that person?" Saya asked as if expecting something like heroism from me.

"Just get going. Miss Shizuka, start the engine and go at full speed." I demanded firmly, ignoring Saya's question and putting trust in the older woman sitting next to me driving the humvee.

Fortunately, my reaction seemed to cause concern among everyone else. Miss Shizuka nodded and started the car, speeding away from the gas station immediately after shifting gears into high gear mode.

"Is... Is that person alright?" Saeko questioned cautiously whilst watching me intently for signs of trouble.

"Yeah... Just let it be. I don't think we need to care anymore." I responded vaguely without bothering to elaborate further.

I was trying hard to suppress my horror after recalling what I saw a moment ago inside the storeroom. Explaining it to the other might be too much. But well, considering that it shouldn't appear easily outside the storeroom... I decided to keep it a secret.

'It's not zombies' work. Most likely humans'.'

So let's leave that thing there, yeah? Anyway, what is it with me and the convenience store? Meeting danger every time.

Seeing my reaction, Saeko didn't push it either and only stared silently out the window. She understood I had secrets, and accepted that I couldn't reveal all of them.

Sometimes I wonder, how does her brain work to come up with such acceptance?

We continued driving towards the airport for a while longer. Along the way, we came across a few stranded vehicles that were left abandoned along highways or roadsides.

I had to come down the humvee to move those cars from our way. With my strength, pushing the unlocked cars was easy.

"Are you a human?" Saya asked mockingly, "Even though the cars are unlocked, only you can do this, pushing a mini truck out of our way with bare hands."

"You want to try it?"

"No, I don't want to try."

Of course, not every time we could get lucky, getting only unlocked cars or small cars. Some were big vehicles or locked ones. Those were impossible to be removed.

So we had to find another detour.

It took almost two hours extra due to these obstacles along the roads we passed by until finally reaching our destination—Tokonosu International Airport.

[Dungeon] Chapter 62 – Battle of Wits

On Floor 2-1, there were two groups of challengers in different parts of the dungeon.

First was Sirzechs, Rias, Akeno, and Grayfia. They had advanced 3/4 of the floor. The second group were Naruto, Jiraiya, Temari, Shikamaru, Gaara, and Kankuro. They were slower because they were a bigger group.

But, they had arrived at the last part of the floor.

Both groups were close to the gate leading to the last part of the floor, the main room that connected all entrances.

"Is this it?" Sirzechs asked.

"Yes. I believe so." Rias answered. "After we enter this cave, we will enter that monster wave room. The boss is Dullahan, and it can regenerate itself using the undead using its trait. To defeat it, we need to kill all the undead in the surrounding area first."

"I see. Then, what's our strategy?" Sirzechs asked, testing his sister.

"We will deal with the monster wave first. Last time, we got dozens of Dungeon Coins from all the monsters. There are monsters inside the doors too, we need to kill them if we want to stop Dullahan's regeneration." Rias explained.

"Good. I am satisfied with your answer. Let's go."

Rias took the lead and the other followed. Unlike the other areas of the cave, the cave they went through was a short tunnel that led straight to the main area of the floor. There was no enemy in their path, making their journey easier.

"Here we are." Rias muttered, stopping her steps.

A large room greeted them with doors scattered around. It was like a plaza or a hall where people would gather to go to their own destination.

"This place..." Sirzechs narrowed his eyes.

He looked around at the empty space. There were a lot of doors leading to unknown destinations. The walls were made of stone, and the ceiling was high. The whole area seemed like it was carved out of a mountain.

"This is the main floor. I believe you've seen it in my report." Rias said.

"Yes. I have read your report. This place is quite impressive." The man nodded. "When will the monsters appear?"

"Should be soon."

As soon as she said that, six lights appeared on the other side of the room, revealing the ninja group.

"Whoa, that was a strange sensation. Is that a teleportation? It's a bit similar to body flicker technique but different. Hahaha! I didn't expect something like that." Jiraiya laughed, surprised by the sudden change in their environment.

Then, he noticed the Devils' group and smirked.

"It seems that we meet again."

Sirzechs smiled back and nodded. "Greetings, traveler."

Then, both groups stood across from each other. Each side observed the other, and the atmosphere was tense.

"I thought you were going to another dungeon? Elemental Tower, was it?" The Sannin asked in curiosity.

"Well, we decided to come here first." The Devil responded calmly. "This is an interesting place, isn't it? A bit too much like the battlefield during the Great War. I wonder who the creator of this place is..."

Jiraiya raised his eyebrows, "Great War? So your world was also in a war?"

"Hahaha, that was hundred of years ago when I was still young." Sirzechs laughed. "How about you? How was yours?"

The Sannin took note of what the other party said and shrugged his shoulders. "Still going on, I guess. War never really ended."

"I see. Your world must be a lot different than ours. Interesting, indeed. Oh, how about we chat a bit in the chat room after this?"

The Sannin nodded his head. "Sure. It'd be a good chance to learn more about each other."

Suddenly, the sound of bells echoed through the hall, and the ground started to shake.

"The monsters." Rias muttered.

The doors around them started to open, revealing hundreds of undead. They walked slowly but steadily, their footsteps sounding heavy as they approached.

"Let's do it!"

Naruto shouted and moved faster than anyone else. He made a hand sign and multiplied into four people, his clones attacking the enemies in front of them.

The real Naruto jumped high and threw several kunais at the skeletons, breaking their bones with ease.

Meanwhile, Shikamaru watched the situation from afar. The Devil's group was composed of four people, two girls and two guys. He quickly realized that the red-haired man was their leader.

'He looks strong and sly.'

Unexpectedly, they didn't make any move even when monsters ran out of the doors, leaving everything to Naruto who jumped first. From what Shikamaru heard from the boy, he met the red-haired girl and black-haired girl from the other sides in the first expedition.

The way Naruto described their power was simply a one-sided massacre. Especially the red-haired girl.

'Kekkei Genkai? And the black-haired girl has Lightning release that's stronger than Kakashi-sensei's chidori. What a troublesome bunch.' Shikamaru clicked his tongue. "Temari, Gaara, Kankurou! We will support Naruto. Let's get rid of the small fries first!"

"Hey! Who are you to order us around?!" Temari shouted, but her words fell deaf ears.

Gaara was already moving. He controlled his sand to attack the monsters that came out of the doors. His sand was sharp and hard, easily cutting through flesh and bone.

Kankuro summoned his puppet and attacked the monsters too. He was using his Black Ant puppet, the perfect weapon to fight against multiple enemies. With its long arms, sharp claws and a poison that could paralyze the target, the puppet was a formidable foe.

Jiraiya only watched as he stood next to Sirzechs, ready for anything.

"Are you guys not going to join the fight?" He asked the Devil's leader.

Looking at the ninja, Sirzechs smiled, "You're right. Rias, show your brother your power. Help them."

"Yes. You can do it, Rias-sama." Grayfia nodded.

"Of course." Rias responded.

Then, she turned her attention to Akeno and gave her an order. "Akeno, support me."

"Understood."

And then, she walked toward the battlefield. With a wave of her hand, she summoned her Power of Destruction and shot it at the approaching zombies. The blast obliterated everything in its path, leaving nothing behind.

Seeing the destruction, the Suna's ninjas were surprised.

"Is that a Kekkei Genkai?" Kankuro asked in surprise.

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes. "No. That's definitely a different technique. But it's powerful nonetheless."

Gaara remained silent, his eyes fixed on Rias' figure. He could feel her power even from this distance.

Naruto, on the other hand, was amazed by her strength. He knew she was strong when he saw her the first time, but her power was beyond what he had imagined.

"Whoa, you're truly strong!" Naruto said excitedly.

"Thanks. Your clones are quite useful too. I remember seeing them in the first dungeon run." She replied with a smile.

"Yeah! As someone who would become a Hokage, this is nothing!" Naruto grinned.

While Rias was talking to Naruto, the rest of the team watched from afar.

"Her power is incredible..." Temari murmured.

"Indeed." Shikamaru agreed. "She's not even sweating."

"Akeno."

"Yes, President."

Ignoring the ninja, the two devils began to move.

[Dungeon] Chapter 61 – How To Make Them Fight

Meanwhile, in the Ninja group, the situation was also intense. Especially when they were fighting in a tight alleyway between graves.

"Kage bunshin no jutsu!"

Dozens of clones appeared behind the blond haired boy who shouted those words aloud. They immediately rushed forward, charging straight ahead towards enemy lines with weapons drawn out ready for combat...

Their enemies were an army of skeletons holding a sword and spear.

They attacked them in droves, overwhelming their defenses through sheer numbers alone. Fortunately, these monsters weren't strong enough to pose any threat even against one shinobi alone, let alone an entire squad composed solely out of Kage Bushins.

"Rasengan!"

Each clone slammed a blue swirling chakra ball, shattering every bone that blocked them.

"Good job, Naruto!" Jiraiya shouted, laughing loudly at the sight of all these monsters getting destroyed so easily.

Naruto Uzumaki grinned broadly in response, feeling proud of himself for being able to defeat such a large number of enemies with his technique alone.

"It's nothing at all! They are weak as long as you know how to defeat them. Look, Gaara also took care of a bunch of them already!"

And he pointed at the person who controlled sand to kill all zombies coming his way. He killed them by crushing their bones or burying their head on the ground.

Shikamaru sighed as he observed everything going on around him.

"Troublesome," he murmured quietly under his breath.

He observed everything from the side and used his keen senses to understand the situation.

Naruto and Gaara had defeated all the enemies in front of them. And from a few enemies, he had found something dropped on the ground.

"A coin?" He picked it up.

"Looks like it." Jiraiya muttered from the side, surprising Shikamaru.

The latter didn't even feel the white-haired ninja approaching him. But when he saw his face, he understood why. Jiraiya's eyes were twinkling in excitement as he looked at the shiny metal thing in his hand.

"A coin made of... bronze? Copper?" Shikamaru asked. "No, it's different from the coin used for our money."

"Maybe this will be useful? Let's collect it for now." Jiraiya proposed.

"Yeah." Shikamaru nodded and pocketed the coin.

Afterward, the duo explained to the others to collect the coins from fallen enemies. Gaara listened to their explanation and nodded his head.

He understood what they meant instantly.

The reason why the coin dropped from the enemy's body must be a rule they weren't familiar with yet. In fact, it reminded him of how the world works in his home country.

"Shouldn't you use that monocle you get from Granny Tsunade to see what this coin is, Ero Sennin?" Naruto suddenly interrupted.

Jiraiya and the others looked at the blond ninja. They looked at him as if he was an alien.

Meanwhile, Shikamaru glanced at Jiraiya and was confused what monocle that Naruto talked about. He wasn't given any explanation, and so were the Ninjas from Sunagakure.

"What? Did I say something weird?" the boy asked, tilting his head.

Jiraiya laughed awkwardly, realizing his mistake. He actually forgot the monocle given by Tsunade in the Hokage's office.

"Sorry, Naruto. I didn't bring it with me. Hahahaha..."

"What the hell, Ero Sennin!" Naruto cursed, but Jiraiya only laughed.

"Let's continue. Just gather everything for now, isn't that easy?" Temari spoke, cutting the atmosphere. She was right, the best way was to continue and explore the place rather than stay here and talk about useless things.

Gaara nodded in agreement and stepped forward, leading the group. He was followed closely by his friends and teammates.

Jiraiya smirked slightly. He secretly played with the monocle in his pocket, hiding it from the others' eyes.

'It's better for me to hide this thing from the kids.' He thought to himself.

***

"What a sly guy." Cain chuckled when he watched Ero Sennin's antics. "He probably doesn't want Suna to know the monocle's existence."

He understood his intention. If he used it, then the Sunagakure's shinobi would know that he had an item that could detect the item's information.

It was smart of him.

If he was in his position and had other people in his party, those that he didn't know well, then he would do the same.

Both teams had members who experienced Tower of Resentment before. Even if they spawned in a slightly different path, because Cain randomized their starting point, they already knew the monsters and their weakness.

So, they quickly got used to the situation. Especially the Devil's group with Rias who had plenty of experience of dungeon diving. That's why Cain did something a bit unprofessional for someone who managed a dungeon.

"Let's add more big zombies in their way. Sirzechs' fascination will give me a lot of points. He's a siscon, so his feelings toward his sister should give me a lot of good coins." He muttered, "Assistant, make sure to give the Devils and the Ninjas a HP potion each from a big zombie monster drop before they reach floor 2-1's main area."

The assistant responded.

[Affirmative]

Cain grinned as his work was done. He had put a bait for them. A reward.

It wasn't a lot, but it was a start. He would continue to guide them to the main area and let them fight each other after something.

He only had one more preparation left.

"Let's move that monster into the monster wave. And then, set a 100% drop rate item. Appraisal Monocle has already proven its use, so both sides will definitely want to get it." 

He told his assistant, "Make sure it drops when the special monster is defeated, and don't forget to give the Dullahan buff. Let's use 500 Coins to add an increased strength and agility trait to it."

With 250 Coins, he could add a greater Trait to the monster. He was curious about the increment and opened Dullahan's status.

---

Race: Dullahan

STR: C

VIT: C

AGI: B+

MP: C

HP: 460/800

Special Skills:

─ Mana Manipulation

─ Mana Slash

Trait:

─ Undead Lord: Able to absorb nearby Undead's HP and convert it into his. Convertion rate: 2:1.

Modified Trait:

─ Greater Strength: Increase STR by one level

─ Swift Leg: Moderately increase AGI

---

He nodded in satisfaction.

"Perfect. I'll save the rest of the coins for now."

Satisfied with his work, Cain sat on his chair and enjoyed the spectacle. He was especially waiting for the battle between Dullahan and the challengers.

He had a feeling this was gonna be good.

[HOTD] Chapter 58 – Finding Antidote

Before returning to the underground lab, we scoured the vicinity to ensure everything was safe. We killed all zombies roaming inside and outside the police station's perimeter without issues.

Then after everything was clear, I called Saya and Miss Shizuka. I definitely needed their help to find this antidote among all the vials placed on the shelf.

When they arrived at the underground, Saya couldn't help but pinch her nose at the pungent odor.

"This smell is horrible!" Saya complained while glaring accusingly towards me, "How could you two handle this environment? It stinks!"

"Just bear with it. Come on, let's start searching." I said before explaining our goal briefly to both ladies present.

I wouldn't say that I was a genius who knew about everything. My knowledge was limited to guns, how to fight, and a little bit of interrogation because I loved reading criminal novels and watching movies.

This task, therefore, required expertise which neither Saeko nor I possessed whatsoever, hence why we relied upon two others here, especially Miss Shizuka whose job revolved around nursing.

I asked Saya to find documents and matched it with the antidote. We had an impression that the researchers catalogued their experiments.

As expected, Saya soon found papers with photos of vials on them, some were crossed out with red pen marks. Most likely, failed experiments. With a match, we should find the antidote easily.

"This is..." She mumbled as her fingers hovered across pages of numerous files and data compiled neatly within thick folders stored in the file cabinet, "This is insane. To think they tested all kinds of things like this. Horrible, really horrible...!"

The pinkette shivered involuntarily at every turn she took towards the new page.

Each contained illustrations depicting horrifying abominations brought by mad scientists attempting to create bioweaponry. One of them had Tyrant's prototype with a large yet destroyed body with an exposed heart.

"Find anything else interesting?" I asked curiously. "We need to find an antidote for a parasite."

"...this is horrible." Saya repeated once more absentmindedly before snapping herself awake, "...Wait! I think I found it! Yes, yes!!"

Her expression brightened considerably immediately afterwards upon seeing another illustration.

I looked at the page she opened. My mouth opened in surprise when I saw the illustration, an arthropod-like creature that resembled Las Plagas.

On the corner, the label 'Mars 9th, 199X', told us when this experiment happened.

Not only the Las Plagas itself, it also showed the host that got infected by one as well as the adult Las Plagas that spurted from a human's severed head.

"This seems like it... Find the vial that has a matching logo with the drawing on this paper." I said to Saya and Shizuka, giving the pinkette some instructions on how to proceed to the next step onward.

Both of them nodded simultaneously and started browsing through stacks upon stacks filled with glass bottles. I also helped to find the antidote while Saeko stood guard near the door leading outside of this place.

After all, anything could happen at any moment.

Finding one bottle proved surprisingly difficult even for us since we lacked detailed information regarding its location. Luckily though, there were labels indicating contents written on caps affixed onto containers themselves alongside corresponding numbers engraved on them too.

After a few minutes, Miss Shizuka screamed.

"Kyaa!"

I quickly unsheathed my sword and ran toward her.

"What's wrong?!"

"T-that vial, the liquid... It's disgusting!" Miss Shizuka explained fearfully.

She pointed at one vial.

I approached and looked at the vial. Inside, there was a small arthropod creature with its legs dangling down limply in red liquid. It twitched and writhed around slowly, like a maggot.

Disgusting indeed.

The label said 'Las Plagas: Dominant'.

Then I realized. This was the dominant version of Las Plagas, one that couldn't be controlled by ultrasonic sound and could command the subordinate version.

The host would gain increased physical ability as long as the parasites were inside them, rendering them virtually immortal. They could even tank a few shotgun shots in the head.

I looked at the vial in my hand and to Saya. Upon meeting my gaze, she shrieked and covered her chest with her arms.

"D-Don't ever think about it, stupid! I already read the document, and I will say no!" She screamed fearfully.

"No, I won't." I responded gently. "We need an antidote, remember?"

She sighed in relief.

Indeed, infecting my girl with Umbrella Corp's parasite was stupid. However, I shouldn't destroy this dominant Las Plagas either. This could save life, although it would turn the host into something very dangerous.

'Having it is better.'

With that, I put this vial in my pocket, keeping it a secret from everyone. Of course, Saeko who always watched me might notice it, but she always took my side and trusted me.

Then, Saya found another vial with a label, Antivirus - Las Plagas.

There were only two of these. According to the log on the documents, the creator died a week after the experiment and left only two antiviruses before his demise. The recipe for making another was lost along with him.

"So this can kill the parasite inside our bodies? What about curing zombies?"

"It seems to be impossible." Saya read through the paper quickly. "Zombies' cells have degraded too much. The antivirus is useless. Even when they were just bitten, the virus infecting them was different from the parasite, so it would only kill the house and not cure it."

"Oh well..."

I should save up points to buy the Zombie Serum for safety, then.

"Alright, let's leave then. We finished looting."

And we went upstairs to head toward our next destination.

[Dungeon] Chapter 60 – Proud Brother

Returning to the throne room, Cain immediately prepared 5 large screens to follow the Ninja group and Sirzechs.

As he had expected, Konoha and Suna worked together as one team, composed of 6 people. They spawned in graveyard area, just like their first attempt.

Meanwhile, Sirzechs and the three other appeared in a slightly different area.

"A forest?"

A dark forest greeted them. Trees stood tall with their dark bark and lush leaves growing all over the place. Branches extended high above ground while roots spread outward beneath soil creating an eerie ambience akin to night.

"Interesting... It's afternoon outside but here, it looks like evening." The current Lucifer observed carefully. His eyes scanned the surroundings meticulously before adding, "And this area feels familiar..."

His observation caused Rias Gremory's brows to furrow slightly.

The maid, Grayfia Lucifuge noticed this and said, "It reminds us of the old days."

Hearing that, Sirzechs smiled wryly. The old days, meaning then Great War. When Devils fought against Angel and Fallen Angel. And during those days, many corpses were made, especially among Low-class Devil.

The atmosphere in this place was similar to the warzone in the past.

"Dungeon maker... the one who created this tower must've been influenced by something from the war era."

"So they recreated this scenery?" Asked Rias.

Grayfia shook her head. "It's impossible. The atmosphere was indeed similar but the scenery is not."

"Maybe because the monsters in this area are undead?" Akeno proposed. "That's why the atmosphere reminded me of the battlefield in the past where many corpses roamed free..."

Sirzechs hummed as he thought deeply about her words. "Could be..."

Suddenly, several figures emerged from within dense bushes lining the side road leading deeper into the heart of woods surrounding them.

Zombies and skeletons.

Seeing those undead, they immediately formed themselves in formation.

"Well then. Let's begin!" Said Sirzechs with a calm expression. "Rias, will you show me the result of your training? Please lead us."

Surprised at his sudden suggestion, Rias immediately turned around to look at her older brother but soon regained composure as she nodded resolutely.

Confidence surging forth within her chest, bloomed beautifully throughout entire being. She smiled warmly.

There wasn't a lot of chance to show off to her brother. A chance like this was rare!

"Of course, brother!" she declared proudly while facing towards the direction where a horde of enemies approached.

She took a deep breath.

A destruction ball formed in her hand. Then, another one on the other hand.

With steady hands, Rias launched the balls, crushing all the monsters blocking their path instantly. Three zombies' heads exploded.

She didn't stop at that.

In fact, the intensity of her power only grew stronger as time passed on. Another ball formed and crushed the nearest skeleton. Its bones fell down, scattering all over the place like broken toys discarded carelessly by children who played with them until boredness overtook interest.

The process continued repeatedly, each blow becoming increasingly devastating.

At that moment, the trees in front of them broke and a giant zombie appeared in front of them.

"Big zombie!" Rias exclaimed excitedly.

"That is quite an exciting name..." Sirzechs commented. "Is that the official term used nowadays among youngsters such as yourself?" he asked jokingly.

"We just called it a big zombie because it's bigger than a normal zombie." Rias explained calmly despite feeling embarrassed by her brother's comment.

She could've looked at its information using the monocle she had in her pocket, but she chose to keep calling it like that. Big Zombie was easy to understand and simple.

However, Grayfia seemed dissatisfied as evidenced by her frowning brow. Her gaze remained fixedly locked upon the figure of a giant monster before them, studying every detail intently.

'The big zombie doesn't resemble any type of monster known amongst our ranks nor those recorded within archives. It's different from the undead roaming these woods earlier; much larger size with increased strength & durability...'

The maid mulled silently over possibilities concerning this strange phenomenon currently taking place right before her very eyes...

At that moment, the giant monster attacked.

Its movements were sluggish and clumsy but powerful enough to cause shockwave whenever it hit something solid. Trees and plants around them bent backwards violently under impact of heavy fists slamming downward repeatedly.

"Can you defeat it, Rias?" Sirzechs asked casually.

Rias paused for a brief moment before nodding confidently in response to her brother's question. She summoned another ball and blasted the giant undead.

And then... The ball hit its chest and made a huge hole there. However, it was still moving around sluggishly. And in seconds, the wound healed on its own. Only leaving burnt mark of destruction magic on its body.

As expected of an undead. They regenerated easily.

"Oh? How troublesome," noted Rias dryly.

The big zombie roared angrily towards the group as if offended by her statement.

In retaliation, it charged forward recklessly.

Akeno, standing beside Rias, raised her hand in danger. But the red-haired girl stopped her by holding out her arm in front of her.

"I'll show you how powerful my Power of Destruction can be."

Releasing her demonic power, red aura surged fourth of her body. It swirled violently like whirlwind forming from within depths of Hell itself... This incredible sight caused even Grayfia Lucifuge's expressionless mask crack open slightly.

She didn't expect that Rias had reached this level.

Without warning whatsoever, Rias controlled the waves of destructive energies.

"Condense."

And with one final word spoken aloud, everything changed dramatically afterwards.

Black energy converged together above the young lady's raised arm forming what seemed like gigantic cannonballs made entirely out of raw destruction magic itself...

It expanded outward rapidly until finally stabilizing itself once fully formed. Red crackle emitted constantly from spherical objects floating midair.

Then, she threw it toward the advancing giant zombie.

Like a meteor crashing down from heaven above onto earth below; this massive orb descended quickly upon an unsuspecting creature. Upon impact, the ground trembled violently beneath its feet.

Cracks appeared everywhere. A loud explosion resounded loudly across the entire forest. Shockwaves rippled outward across vast expanse of land destroying whatever stood within their path.

Everything became silent afterward except the sound of crumbling rocks falling apart. Dust settled down gradually revealing nothing but complete annihilation left behind in wake of destruction brought upon by the sphere.

Seeing the result of Rias' power of destruction, Sirzechs clapped his hands and laughed.

"Amazing, Rias! You have improved so much!"

Whatever happened in the past when she was out of his sight must've been hard. He didn't know the details, but his sister was no longer the same as before.

"Thank you, brother. I also have the power to control my power now." Rias smiled brightly after receiving praise from her brother.

However, at the same time, she felt slightly sad. The reason was because she didn't use her power to its full extent. It was still weaker compared to when she rampaged against Wendigo.

Rias knew it wasn't her limit. She had yet to achieve true mastery over her Power of Destruction. But, nevertheless, it made him proud nonetheless.

Sirzechs nodded approvingly at the sight. "Good job. Now then... Shall we move on?"

"Sure." Rias agreed without hesitation.

Thus, the group continued their journey deeper into the heart of woods surrounding them. All the while, Sirzechs kept observing his surroundings keenly.