Chapter 66: Roles
Chapter 66: Roles
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"Ga-yeong, can you create four Shields for us to use as stepping stones?"
"Ah! Do you want to test it?"
Ga-yeong had also acquired the Strength Increase Sub-trait.
It was the same Sub-trait Seon-yeong possessed, and it compensated for the fragility of Ga-yeong's Shields.
She had accumulated a considerable number of Available Points and, after discussing it with me, invested all of them.
"Shield."
Thud thud thud thud.
I stepped onto the Shields she formed close to the floor and placed my full weight on them.
I jumped from one Shield to another several times.
"Oh, they're much sturdier now. They aren't breaking."
"Hehe... What do you think? You want to use the Shields as steps to reach the upper floors, right?"
"Yeah. This should be enough. They didn't break even after I jumped on them several times."
This could change the way we fought as well.
I'd considered the possibility when Seon-yeong learned to move her Shields, but aerial combat might truly be feasible.
Because Ga-yeong possessed Multiple Creation, she could probably control the air more effectively than Seon-yeong.
With enough coordination, she could create stepping stones beneath me in combat.
It wouldn't be easy, but we should begin practicing that very day.
"Then, shall we start with the next unit?"
We left the apartment, and Ga-yeong created Shields outside the stairwell window.
The next balcony was close enough to reach with a short jump, so she created only two.
I climbed onto the window frame and jumped to the first Shield.
"Our safety ropes are connected, so follow directly behind me."
"Yep!"
I moved to the second Shield and watched Ga-yeong climb out.
She hesitated briefly, then stepped safely onto the first Shield.
I had suspected that she feared heights, but apparently that was not the problem.
Then what had frightened her earlier?
"Going in."
We entered the neighboring apartment and disconnected our safety ropes.
Beginning in the living room, we made noise and listened for any zombies inside.
Two zombies occupied the master bedroom, and Ga-yeong killed both.
"Well done. How does that feel compared to a golf club?"
"This is much better. It's light, and I'm far less likely to miss."
"Good. Let's keep improving the method as we use it."
Ga-yeong's new weapon was a stainless-steel rod.
I had cut one end with a cutting machine and sharpened it on a grinder.
After several tests, I settled on a length of one hundred and twenty centimeters.
Customized for Ga-yeong, the weapon was intended to be thrust like a spear.
It was light and easy to maintain, and the other women regarded it enviously.
Because it relied on striking a precise point, though, landing a hit was generally more difficult than with a swinging weapon.
Ga-yeong compensated by pinning a zombie's movement with a Shield before stabbing its head.
When she formed a Shield over a zombie from its upper torso to its neck, the barrier trapped its body while leaving its head exposed.
She could then stab immediately. If the head recoiled, she sometimes braced the spear against the Shield and thrust again.
"It bends more easily than you might expect, so don't carry only that. Understood?"
"Of course. Look—the golf club is hanging right here."
Ga-yeong turned around to show me the golf club secured behind her.
She had once complained that carrying the club alone was heavy, so her stamina had clearly improved.
I planned to make more stainless-steel spears.
The more weapons we had, the better. Eventually, every raid-party member would probably carry one.
We would also need to practice spear thrusts together at night, like a formation of medieval soldiers.
"Then, shall we go to the next unit?"
"Before that, could you test the Shield's strength one more time?"
"Sure, I can do a test. How?"
"I want to see whether it can support both of us at once."
Ga-yeong created a single shield.
Unlike Seon-yeong, she couldn't enlarge her Shield, so the platform looked narrow for two people.
We'd need to stand pressed together, like the newspaper-folding game played on group trips.
"Oh. It's solid."
"Pfft. What exactly is solid?"
"The Shield. It's sturdy. Why did you suddenly want to test this?"
"Could you hold me while we try it?"
Ga-yeong spread her arms and stepped into my embrace.
She explained that standing on the Shields alone made her uneasy, so she wanted me to hold her while we moved together.
She had asked for this additional test to confirm that the Shield could support us both.
Thud. Thud.
As requested, I lifted her into my arms and jumped in place several times.
The Shield supported our combined weight reasonably well.
It broke after roughly five jumps.
"This much is fine, right?"
"Yeah, it's fine. It's fine, but..."
The Shield only needed to support us long enough to cross, so that was sufficient.
The real problem was that, perhaps because my vitality had increased so much, suppressing an erection with Ga-yeong in my arms was difficult.
A young, beautiful woman was clinging tightly to me. There was no easy way to remain unaffected.
"Why? Is this uncomfortable? Heeeng... Am I too heavy?"
"No, no. Let's get going then."
She apparently mistook my discomfort for difficulty supporting her weight.
I carried the teary-eyed Ga-yeong toward the balcony.
Click.
We reconnected our safety ropes before ascending to the next floor.
"Do you still have enough capacity for more Shields?"
"Of course. I'm not as weak as I used to be. I'll tell you if I start running low, so don't worry."
We shortened the line between our harnesses with carabiners and opened the window.
Ga-yeong glanced toward the third floor and created Shields at suitable intervals.
Then she turned, opened her arms, and approached me.
"I'm fine, so hold me securely, Mister."
Ga-yeong wrapped her arms around my neck and spoke directly into my ear, sending a faint shiver through me.
A rush of arousal passed through me, but I forced it aside and grasped her thighs.
Without another word, Ga-yeong hopped up and wrapped her legs around me.
I tightened my grip and supported her properly. She hooked her legs beneath the straps of my backpack and held on.
"Alright, here we go."
"Yes, here we gooo!"
Her unnecessarily cheerful reply sounded in my ear as I stepped onto the first Shield.
Was she doing it deliberately? She kept speaking directly into my ear.
As expected, climbing while carrying another person was more awkward than moving alone.
My weapon could hang from my waist, but I still needed at least one hand free.
I had no choice but to release her with one hand and support her entire backside with the other.
The softness and firmness of it filled my palm.
Any more attention to the sensation and my hand might stray somewhere intimate, so I hurried toward the third floor.
"Ga-yeong, are you all right? Tell me if anything feels uncomfortable."
"I'm fine. I'd hate this with anyone else, but because it's you, Mister..."
Ga-yeong blushed and let the sentence trail off.
Haah... The demon of temptation had come for me.
But we were in a dangerous place where zombies might be nearby.
No matter how strong we became, a single bite remained irreversible.
We hadn't even confirmed whether the apartment contained zombies.
I shook my head and forced myself back to full alertness.
"Let's focus and finish strongly. We have about an hour left, right?"
"Yep! Want me to take the lead?"
"Yeah, let's go."
At my brief answer, Ga-yeong adjusted her grip on the spear and adopted a determined expression.
In truth, I had been speaking to myself.
Her expression changed so quickly that I realized the girl I had taken for a puppy might actually be a fox.
After that, we cleared the apartments in rapid succession.
We finished through the fifth floor and returned to our base.
On the way back, an awareness of each other as man and woman flowed between us that had not existed before.
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"We're back~"
"Ga-yeong, you worked hard. Was it okay?"
"Yeah. Nothing special happened!"
No one was on the fifth floor, so we went to the seventh, where everyone had gathered.
Ga-yeong pattered over to Seon-yeong, who was working in gloves, and began chatting brightly.
Ye-jin was next in the rotation.
"Where's Ye-jin?"
"She's inside. Should I call her?"
"Yes. I'll wait downstairs, so tell her to prepare and come out."
After speaking with Seon-yeong, I went down to the first floor and lit a cigarette.
Did Seon-yeong realize that she was raising a fox?
We were not married and had never formally declared ourselves a couple, but Seon-yeong and I were effectively lovers.
Ga-yeong knew that, yet she had still flirted with me.
The problem was me.
Even under ordinary circumstances, rejecting a woman's direct advances was not easy for a man.
In a ruined world like this, resisting the temptation of a young, beautiful woman might itself be an unreasonable demand.
Law and social custom had lost their force, and conventional morality was being pushed aside.
More bluntly, if I demanded such a relationship, the other raid-party members might find it difficult to refuse because of the power I held over the group.
That was exactly why I needed to establish firm standards for myself.
No matter how much stronger my sexual urges had become, surrendering to them could cost me a great deal.
Our raid party had built genuine personal relationships and was working together well.
If I lost my judgment, conflict would inevitably follow.
Then again, Ga-yeong appeared to have feelings for me and might genuinely welcome it.
A man's heart was a fickle thing...
"Raid Leader. Did you wait long?"
While I continued turning the problem over in my mind, Ye-jin came downstairs.
I decided to consider it later and concentrate on the work in front of me.
"No. You came down quickly. Shall we go?"
"You can finish your cigarette... Are you sure you don't need more rest?"
"Yeah, I'm fine for now. You didn't forget anything, right?"
"Yes. I checked every item on the checklist before coming down."
Eun-mi had created a checklist of everything required before going outside.
She had compiled suggestions from the entire group, and the resulting equipment list closely matched what I already carried.
For apartment clearing, we added extra safety ropes and reduced the weight of our survival packs, among other adjustments.
Everyone carried a carefully prepared checklist tailored to the task.
Perhaps because Eun-mi had served in the military, she was efficient, observant, and thorough about preparations.
"Am I really going to kill all of them myself?"
"Yes. That is the entire reason you're accompanying me."
"Thank you. Please let me say it once more while I have the chance. Thank you sincerely for saving all of us and continuing to help us, Raid Leader."
Tears welled in Ye-jin's eyes as she bowed deeply.
I included one additional person in the apartment-clearing team to help increase her Available Points.
In gaming terms, I was power-leveling the low-level members.
Information Display was not a combat ability, so Ye-jin could not easily increase her points alone.
Strong-willed women like Eun-mi could handle several zombies even without combat abilities. Ye-jin, however, hadn't yet adapted to the zombies themselves.
So I planned to hand her easy kills directly and force her to grow accustomed to fighting by taking her with me.
Seon-yeong possessed overwhelmingly greater stats and experience than the others, so she had yielded her place in the rotation.
"I know I must be frustrating to watch. I'll do anything, so please guide me well, Raid Leader."
"Haha, I understand. That's enough, so calm down. Good grief... Have you always cried this easily? Wipe your eyes, and let's go."
Ye-jin was twenty-six, if I remembered correctly.
From my perspective, that was still very young.
When I first saw her, an umbrella had been forced into her vagina. I could scarcely imagine how painful and terrifying that experience had been.
Numerous other wounds covered her body, making the extent of the abuse difficult to comprehend.
Her condition had been so grave that I initially believed she might die on the spot.
The wounds no one could see had probably left even deeper marks on her mind.
Ha-na had treated her injuries, and the people around her had cared for her constantly, so she appeared somewhat better.
A shadow still crossed her face whenever I saw her, but speaking with her that day suggested that she had rediscovered the will to live.
"Raid Leader, these aren't empty words. All of us truly mean it. We are deeply grateful that you took us in."
"Why are you saying this all of a sudden? It's embarrassing. I understand, so please stop..."
After wiping her tears, she suddenly took my hand and continued saying things that left me uncomfortable.
We had proposed joining forces partly because we needed more people ourselves, but the Prugia women regarded it as my taking them in and doing them a favor.
There was some truth to that view, but their gratitude felt excessive.
"So this is the weight of being the head of a household..."
"Pfft..."
The situation had become so awkward that I muttered nonsense to myself and began walking.
In any case, it was the first time I had seen Ye-jin laugh.
That alone was a relief.