The Weight of Strength
Only from evil, deliver us (4). That my sister had a status window? I’d guessed as much. I’m not stupid enough not to notice. But… I never imagined it would be to this extent.
Name:Kang Ahyeon
Strength:4 (1)
Agility:7 (1)
Intelligence:5 (1)
Perception:5 (1)
Acquired Skills
Dagger Arts — Intermediate
Stealth — Basic
Marksmanship — Intermediate
First Aid — Novice
I didn’t know how her point system worked, but even at a glance the numbers were alarming.
Strength:9 (5)
Agility:7 (4)
Intelligence:1
Perception:4 (1)
Compared to mine, the difference was obvious. Strength? Thankfully I was still ahead, though the skill bonuses were nearly even—four for me, three for her. Agility was comparable, but only because I’d already invested points and carried bonuses. When it came to Perception and Intelligence, she completely outclassed me, and the efficiency gap was just as stark. The marksmanship skill probably explained some of it… but overall, while I’d poured points into raw stats, she’d funneled everything into skills from start to finish.
The skill ranks went Novice, Basic, Intermediate, Advanced, Master/Expert, Expert/Master. Judging by that scale, most of her skills sat at practical combat levels. Dagger Arts at Intermediate, Marksmanship at Intermediate, Stealth at Basic, and even First Aid. She’d clearly used First Aid on me…
Fortunately my Strength was five points higher, so raw power still gave me the edge. But what if she kept dumping points into skills and her Strength caught up? Would I really end up the weaker brother?
“Shit.”
“Hm?”
The thought of being weaker than Kang Ahyeon made my stomach turn. Some primal part of me rejected it outright. No matter what, I had to stay stronger than her. Only then did another question surface. We’d both started at the same base stat of one, yet even after our status windows appeared I’d still been stronger. Why?
I stared at my shameless little sister, her legs draped over me. Yeah. I’d been a little stronger than her even when my Strength was one. I remembered the balcony, how she’d needed several extra stabs to finish a single zombie while I’d torn its arms off. Even at one, our Strength had never been equal. The difference was baked in from the start.
Did that gap show in our bodies too? Muscle, raw power?
“Kang Ahyeon.”
“Yeah?”
“Why aren’t you asking like usual?”
“Like usual… ah.”
Her cheeks flushed. She gave an awkward little laugh.
“You always whine that you can’t sleep unless I crush you.”
“W-well… Oppa’s hurt…”
“I’m fine.”
“S-still, you need rest, mmph…”
I shifted my aching leg, pulled her beneath me, and pressed my weight down. She let out a small sound but didn’t push back. Instead she wrapped arms and legs around me like a cicada clinging to a tree.
I looked down at her. “Legs down. You’re supposed to be my leg cushion.”
“Mhm, okay.”
Her thighs were pleasantly thick and heavy despite her slim frame—soft, full, just like our mother’s. I rested my leg across hers. Yeah. This was it. That plush, yielding cushion of muscle-less thigh cradling mine. Deep satisfaction settled in my chest.
While I enjoyed the feeling, I shifted and bore down harder. She made strange little noises.
“Nng, hff, ngh, mmh.”
She really did love being crushed. Even as kids she’d crawl under the bed when I refused, which once ended with my leg broken. That incident had been partly my fault—I’d shoved her away for being too hot, so she’d tried to satisfy herself by hiding underneath. After I got out of the hospital, having her pinned beneath me every night became routine.
I felt her face buried between my pecs.
“…Can you breathe?”
“Can’t… breathe…”
“Then turn your head. Idiot.”
“Don’t wanna…”
I sighed, amused, and adjusted so her head could slip out beside mine while I kept her pinned.
“Hahh…”
Her entire face was scarlet as she panted. Even her breath carried a faint, pleasant scent. Strange how that never changed.
While I stayed on top she kept twitching, trying half-heartedly to resist. That confirmed it. Even at the same Strength value of one, there had always been a gap between us. Back then I’d felt stronger than she was now. Of course my current nine might skew the comparison, but unless she pushed past ten I had nothing to worry about. In every other area maybe, but when it came to raw Strength I had to stay ahead of Kang Ahyeon. I made that vow and pressed down again.
She started making odd sounds, but I didn’t let up. My eyes drifted to the status window floating above her spread brown hair.
Active Quests: None
No new quests. I still didn’t know what triggered them, but surviving this insane world required quests and growth. And from what I could see, further growth inside Building 2 was impossible.
“Hey, Kang Ahyeon.”
“Mmh, yeah, hng?”
“Stop making those lewd noises.”
“They’re not lewd…”
She said that while her voice dripped with need. I ignored it.
“It’s just been a while, so… it feels good…”
“You look like you’re trying to get away.”
“I’m not…”
The way she kept squirming said otherwise, but I let it slide. I had something else to discuss anyway.
“Anyway, what do you think about moving to Building 1?”
“…Building 1?”
Sion Mountain Fortress was split between Building 1 and Building 2. Building 2 housed ordinary followers who had earned the right to live there through loyalty to the New Heaven Rapture Mission Church. Building 1, on the other hand, was reserved for the cult leader’s inner circle—himself, capable individuals, and his male concubines. The fifteenth floor was an actual penthouse, and the floors below were far more luxurious than anything in Building 2.
“Yeah. If we’re going to settle somewhere, it’s better over there. More supplies too.”
Building 2 was basically the workers’ quarters, the commoners’ district. Building 1 was the nobility’s residence, the royal court. The reason I hadn’t considered crossing immediately was simple: Serpent Daddy, the mutated GOAT, the legitimate guardian and ruler of Sion Mountain Fortress, still ruled the space between. The moment he appeared we’d scrapped any plan to descend into the village. But we couldn’t stay here forever. One look at Building 2’s current state made that obvious.
“Besides, this place could collapse any second.”
The seventh floor was half-destroyed. There was even a hole leading down to the sixth. It was a miracle it hadn’t already come down. If our combat strength had been too low to hold Building 1 we wouldn’t even be having this conversation, but my Strength was nine now. I also had the Advanced Martial Arts skill the Preacher had given me, and my sister had a shotgun. I still wasn’t sure how she’d made the ammunition, but with a shotgun and a brother who could handle close combat, crossing shouldn’t be impossible. The real problem was getting there safely without running into Serpent Daddy, but we could figure that out. First we needed to recover.
I pressed down a little more and listened to the breath tickling my ear.
“Mmh, yeah, let’s… let’s do that…”
Her tongue was loose, voice breathless. I couldn’t see her face clearly.
“Hey, you okay? Want me to let up?”
“Don’t wanna… more…”
Her trembling had gotten worse, but her answer was still the same.
“Nngh, hah, hff.”
The moment I tried to lift my hips her arms tightened around me again. I gave up. She really did love this too much. Because we hadn’t done it in a while she seemed even more desperate. This was all because of our messed-up childhood. I sighed.
“…Ah.”
“…Hm?”
“I haven’t gone to the bathroom since waking up, but it feels fine.”
“Ah, that.”
Her face was already red. I’d figured as much.
“Crazy bitch.”
“Ugh, b-but… I couldn’t exactly put a pad on you…”
Huh. Fair point.
“I’ll let it slide this once. Got it?”
“Hng, yeah, okay…”
“At least you answer properly.”
When I bore down harder she gasped, but I paid it no mind and focused on the real problem: how to cross safely from Building 2 to Building 1 without alerting Serpent Daddy, or at least survive the encounter if we did. While I mulled it over I felt her arms wrap around my shoulder blades again.
“You got any ideas?”
“I-ideas…?”
“Ways to get to Building 1, idiot.”
I pressed down firmly. She panted and shook.
“D-don’t know…”
“That’s it? Think of something. You used to study hard.”
“Hngh, I really don’t…”
“You don’t think Oppa’s words count? Come up with something good.”
I rocked my relatively painless abdomen against her, and each time she gasped and clung tighter. Her small frame filled my arms completely. While I playfully squeezed that soft, hot little body I kept grinding.
“Nng, hff…!”
Suddenly she buried her face in my shoulder, whole body trembling. Her legs, which had been cushioning mine, shot straight up toward the ceiling before slowly lowering again.
What the hell. Was it that hard for her? She stayed still for a moment, then whispered.
“Oppa… I need the bathroom…”
A strange, sticky sound reached my ears. I frowned.
Ah, this stupid girl. She’d done this before. My expression twisted immediately. I’d learned back then that her bladder was weak, so afterward she always asked to be let up when she needed to go. Had she just been unable to hold it after so long?
I snapped, “Ah, gross. Did you piss yourself?”
“N-no… I just… haven’t changed since getting up, and I wanted to wash… because I’m sweaty…”
Really? When I released her she scrambled off the bed and hurried away.
“…You sure you didn’t piss?”
The front of my shirt felt oddly damp. A little sticky—probably sweat. I couldn’t tell. I lay back on the bed and closed my eyes.
*
Once my body had recovered enough, we packed food and slipped up the emergency stairs to the roof without alerting Serpent Daddy. The rooftop was still littered with the remains of people crushed by the Preacher’s iron fists. Just like the Preacher and the choir had proven, Serpent Daddy’s reach didn’t extend this high. If we were going to cross, it had to be from here.
But the two buildings weren’t close enough to simply jump, no matter how much my Strength had increased. We needed another method. Fortunately I had the perfect skill for the job.
Synthesis — Temporary Skill
Recipe Discovered!
Improvised Water Purifier
Large-Capacity Vehicle Tent
…
……
………
Among the long list, one entry caught my eye.
We would gather the resources from Building 2 and build a bridge to Building 1.