Bullet Time

A crisp chime rang through my mind, and a cascade of system messages poured down before my eyes like a waterfall.

I scrolled down with a satisfied smile. The most important reward message had appeared.

"Ha, just as I thought."

My prediction had been right on the money. If taking down a mid-boss, defending against a night raid, and beating the final boss all ended in a single level-up, that would have been disappointing. Two levels at once. At last, I was Level 11.

But the notifications didn't stop there. Instead of the usual blue window, a dazzling golden one blazed into view before my eyes.

"Oh…."

So this was a bonus granted separately from skill points. With anticipation building, I read the golden skill window.

'Hoh.'

It hardly surprised me. This was about as Harem Overload All-in-One Mod as a skill could get. Fortunately, I actually liked the effect. No longer would I have to shoulder the risk of pregnancy. The thought of pressing my bare skin against Hannah's without a condom was already making my lower half grow heavy.

Whoosh—!

Golden particles burst forth and wrapped around my body. Along with a sensation like electric current tingling through me, a heavy, searing heat settled deep in my abdomen.

Next, I checked my skill window.

Without hesitation, I entered [Acquire New Skill].

Option 1 was Bullet Time, ever the reliable standby. I scrolled down without delay.

"Hm?"

Iron Virility? If it had been a milestone perk, I'd have gobbled it up without complaint… but I didn't feel it was worth spending a precious skill point on. I hadn't exactly found myself running out of stamina with Hannah, either.

So I moved over to [Enhance Existing Skill], and selected Touch of Attunement. It was a skill I absolutely needed if I was going to keep managing Seraphina's condition going forward.

"Yes."

A new sensation burrowed its way into my hands. A tingle, an almost ticklish strangeness — as if the sense of touch itself had sharpened into something far keener.

'At this level, I wonder how well I can control the Mana Overload now.'

So Touch of Attunement capped out at Level 2. Thanks to that, I had one skill point left over.

I returned to [Acquire New Skill] and picked Bullet Time. It was a far better choice than Iron Virility, which was useless for anything but sex.

'Feels a bit like settling, though.'

Choosing the option I'd always left on the back burner left a faint taste of regret.

Still, there were more points to come — from a promotion to Captain, and from Seraphina.

With a soft chime, knowledge of the skill and its feel poured into my mind. I could instinctively grasp how to activate it and how to move while it was running.

Then it happened. An irritating bzzt reached my ears. A fly.

'Serve in the military long enough and the bugs start buzzing around you.'

Especially with the quick ones — flies — I'd long since given up on ever catching one.

'I won't need the cooldown for about ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a day anyway, so I might as well test it out.'

Whether my body could withstand the accelerated time, whether the skill truly worked the way I imagined — I needed to confirm these things before trusting it in actual combat.

I waited a moment for the fly to come closer. The thing, treating my tent like its own personal estate, soon came winging my way.

'Now.'

In an instant, every sound in the world ceased. No — it hadn't ceased at all. The fly's whining buzz stretched out into a long, grotesque low drone, a drawn-out zzzzuuuuuuummmm.

Before my eyes, the fly beat its wings in sluggish slow motion, every movement rendered in perfect clarity.

I reached for my combat boot lying on the floor. Then I brought it down on the fly without mercy. Thwaaaack—! With the faintest of sensations, the fly met its end.

I glanced around, time still crawling along. Setting the boot back where it belonged, I picked up the apple sitting in the corner of the tent and took a bite.

'…So when exactly does it end?'

Chomp, chomp. It wasn't until my third bite of the apple that Bullet Time finally ran out. At the same moment, a system message appeared in the corner of my vision.

Having tried it out, I could say Bullet Time was even more remarkable than I'd imagined.

'3 seconds at 1/10th speed… so that means I get 30 seconds. Thirty seconds is far more than it sounds.'

Sprinting at full power for 30 seconds, I could cover more than two hundred meters while everyone else managed a few dozen.

'One-tenth. In other words, I can move ten times faster than anyone else. This is definitively, unquestionably a cheat.'

I checked my body's condition, too. Had anything been injured from moving so fast? Getting hurt because your body couldn't keep up with your heightened senses would have been a cliché waiting to happen.

'Perfectly fine.'

Not a single injury.

'Well, this place is inside a game, and this is a skill, after all.'

As far as I was concerned, that was good news.

A few days later, the 7th Regiment returned to headquarters, leaving behind only a minimal garrison force in the Ashen Forest. On the surface, the pretext was time to regroup and reorganize in the rear, but word was going around that we would be handing off the breakthrough we'd carved open to follow-up units while the 7th took a well-earned rest.

The rumbling procession of trucks and the footfalls of soldiers stitched their way along the dirt road. I sat in the passenger seat of a jeep, gazing out the window. The familiar front gate of the base came into view.

Soon the jeep rolled to a stop, and as I climbed out and straightened my uniform, I caught sight of Seraphina stepping down from the vehicle ahead of ours.

"…Well, well."

An involuntary sigh of admiration escaped me. This wasn't the combat fatigues I was used to seeing. She must have changed before the return — she was wearing the full dress uniform of an Imperial female officer.

The Imperial officer's dress uniform for women was famous for walking a strange tightrope between practicality and aesthetics. The jacket was a tight-waisted tunic much like the men's, but the lower half was not trousers.

A black, H-line skirt that clung to her figure and rose just above the knee.

Beneath it, flawless black stockings and long leather boots.

'And ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠here she's worn nothing but trousers all this time.'

What reason could she have for changing her outfit at this particular moment — the return to base, of all things?

As if she'd sensed my gaze, she turned her head. The instant our eyes met, she flinched and looked away, the tips of her ears turning faintly red.

'So she wanted me to see it, did she?'

I smirked and walked over to her.

"Welcome back, Captain. That dress uniform suits you beautifully."

"…I merely observed proper form, since I must report our return to the Regiment Commander."

She answered stiffly, deliberately so.

"…Tomorrow, the Regiment Commander will preside over a preliminary meeting on the merit awards. It's all but certain your promotion will come through."

"Thank you. It's all thanks to you, Captain."

"No. It's your own ability."

Seraphina paused for a moment. She hesitated, as if weighing words of great importance.

"…And, this evening."

Her voice dropped lower.

"I will come to your quarters."

Well, well.

"…I do need to treat you, don't I."

"Understood. I'll be ready."

Knock, knock.

"…It's me."

The knock came right on schedule. The door opened, and in stepped Seraphina — dressed in the same uniform I'd seen earlier.

"Reporting for duty, Captain. Come in."

The effect of the treatment I'd given her back during the operation had apparently worn off. The pain had begun again — Seraphina's face was pale, and her body trembled faintly.

"Where does it hurt?"

"…This time too, everywhere."

"Then today we'll begin with your back again—"

"No."

Seraphina's low voice cut across my words.

"Today… I will receive treatment on my front. And my lower body as well."

"…."

Her trembling hands moved toward the buttons of her shirt.