A blinding torrent of light tore through the monstrous flock behind them, disintegrating those twisted zombie birds into nothing but ash. With the pressure eased for a brief moment, Rias finally allowed herself to slow down a little — giving her time to recover some of her drained magic power.
Unfortunately, that relief was short-lived.
Even more of those monstrosities were already swarming toward them.
_ _ _ _
Meanwhile, back on the ground — Ryuji...
He was busy checking the loot bags scattered all over the place.
That's right — the very same bags that had dropped when the zombies were killed.
There had been too many corpses lying around earlier in the day, so he didn't bother with the loot right away. After finishing up the day's tasks — and fooling around with Tsunade for a while — he'd nearly forgotten about them entirely.
It wasn't until nightfall, when he was just about ready to call it a day, that he finally remembered.
And once he started opening those bags... he was completely stunned.
"Bandages? A medical kit?! And... a hundred rounds of ammo?!"
Right there, right in front of him, was a small mountain of bandages and first-aid kits.
And even bullets!
This... this was way too generous!
Did my bad luck finally wear off?
But just as he was marveling at his incredible haul, Kiri— who had wandered over out of curiosity — suddenly let out a cry of disbelief.
"A mixer? Wait, why the hell would a zombie be carrying around a mixer? Was fixing mine earlier completely pointless then?! And what's this — a bicycle?! Seriously? And over six hundred refined steel ingots? How were these zombies even lugging this stuff around?!"
Grumbling the whole time, she fished a mixer and a bicycle straight out of one of the loot bags, cursing under her breath as she tossed the now-empty sack aside and reached for another.
"Hm? Oh, now this makes sense. A level-five M60? Now that's what I'm talking about! Ryuji! Jackpot!"
She gleefully waved the heavy machine gun in front of him like a trophy.
Ryuji, meanwhile, looked down at his own modest pile — a few med kits, a bunch of bandages... and a pitiful little stack of a hundred bullets.
He was speechless.
To be fair, this was already considered pretty lucky by normal standards. But Kiri... that damn loot goblin...
"It's fine… lucky people burn out fast... lucky people burn out fast…"
Hekept repeating the words like a mantra, trying to console himself.
And just when he was almost convinced...
"Hey, Ryuji! Come here for a sec — look at this!"
Kiri's voice rang out again.
Hearing Kiri call out, he thought she was just trying to show off again. He was already preparing his signature fake smile, ready to humor her — but when she placed a book in front of him, he froze.
This book... was clearly out of place in this world.
Its title was simple — Mind's Eye.
"Mind's Eye?" Ryuji subconsciously read the title out loud, but then instinctively turned his gaze toward Kiri, squinting suspiciously.
"You lacking a mind or something? Is that why it gave you this book?"
But Kiri only gave him a sly smile, casually pulling the bolt on her newly looted Level 5 M60 machine gun with a clack.
"Don't think I can't understand your snarky little jokes just because you're speaking Chinese. I get what you're implying. If you dare throw shade like that again..." She raised her fingers like a pistol and tapped them lightly against his forehead. "...I'll serve justice right here and execute you, you filthy perv."
"Tch."
Ryuji clicked his tongue, annoyed, and turned his attention back to the book's description — and the moment he read it, he completely froze.
Mind's Eye: Harness your mind to perceive all things. Increases your chance to evade attacks, making it harder for enemies to hit you. Enhances your ability to focus and observe what you are doing.
This is an entry-level skill for mastering Wave Energy.
Upgrading this skill increases both your evasion rate and the precision and range of your perception.
[Press E to activate]
If it had just stopped there, Ryuji would've assumed it was a typical skill book from this weird zombie-infested world of 7 Days to Die.
But the mention of Wave Energy — that was something completely different.
That term didn't belong to this world.
It belonged to Kiri's world.
Which meant... Kiri had killed zombies from 7 Days to Die... and somehow managed to loot an item from Arad Continent — her world.
"...What the hell is going on here?"
Ryuji stared blankly at the book, utterly dumbfounded.
"Hmm? You haven't seen something like this either?"
Kiri looked at the conflicted expression on his face, clearly puzzled, and finally asked him directly.
"To be honest.. no, I really haven't."
Ryuji took the book out from his inventory and handed it toward Kiri. But instead of taking it, she just raised another book in her hand with a sly grin.
"There were only four of these that dropped. That one's yours now."
Ryuji blinked, then could only shake his head helplessly.
"Whatever you say."
He looked down at the Mind's Eye skill book in his hand, hesitating whether or not to use it. But before he could come to a decision — Kiri suddenly clutched her head and staggered toward him like she was about to collapse.
Instinctively, he reached out to catch her — but his hand accidentally slipped right into the open gap of her low-cut outfit… and then smoothly slid even further inside.
If he hadn't reflexively grabbed onto something — namely, a perfectly handful-sized part of Kiri's chest — she would've probably just faceplanted right onto the ground.
But she didn't even seem to care about that right now.
Clutching her head, she groaned in pain.
"Damn it... ahhh, it hurts...!"
Ryuji was still frozen in awkward shock when Kiri suddenly shot back up like nothing had happened — except to smack his hand away, hard.
"You! That freaking hurt!"
She didn't hold back at all either — Ryuji felt like his arm had just been whipped, and instinctively pulled his hand back. Unfortunately, that motion made her hiss in pain again.
"Ahhh! Careful, you idiot! Can't you pay attention?!"
"Huh?"
Ryuji stared at her blankly, still trying to process everything, while she instinctively reached up with her other hand, rubbing at her sore chest. As she massaged the spot, she couldn't help but complain.
"Jeez, don't you know how rough your hands are?! And why the hell were you squeezing so hard?!"
Kiri couldn't help but complain out loud.
"I just used that damn book and got a little dizzy — but thanks to you, I screamed out in pain! Don't go thinking everyone's like Tsunade, okay?! And before you two finish up whatever that is between you... don't you dare touch me so casually!"
She shot an annoyed glare at Ryuji. Sure, she didn't really care about him fooling around with Tsunade and then coming to her afterward — but together? No thanks.
And seriously — how did Tsunade even tolerate those hands of his?
"Uh… yeah, that's kinda hard to avoid. I am doing manual labor every day, after all..."
Ryuji scratched his cheek awkwardly and withdrew his hand. Working hard all day long had left his hands covered in thick calluses. And right after finishing work? It'd be a miracle if his grip didn't hurt.
Washing up usually helped a bit, though.
"I get it, I get it. I've just never had someone grab me like that before," Kiri grumbled. "Anyway, word of advice — if you're planning to use that thing, wait until you're about to sleep. The side effects are insane... My head's still spinning."
She gave her temple another light tap, her beautiful brows furrowing for a moment before turning to the next loot bag.
But before moving on, she still offered him a brief explanation.
"But yeah, everything in these books is real. It does work. When I used it, I felt this strange power flow into me... like I was going through some brutal training montage or something. Not that it matters much for me..."
Then her expression turned even more exasperated.
"And get this — when I tried to use skill points to level it up? It literally said: 'Unable to upgrade. Conditions unknown. Please explore on your own.' Seriously, what kind of crap system is that? So, you unlucky bastard, stop looting stuff randomly. Leave it to me."
Waving him off, Kiri bent down and started digging through another bag. It was clear she was hoping to score more useful loot.
Ryuji glanced at her, then looked down at the Mind's Eye skill book still in his hands.
After hesitating for a moment, he took a deep breath — and completely ignored Kiri's warning.
Because unlike her, he knew exactly where this thing came from.
This wasn't just some random game item — this was a piece of transcendent power from her world. A prerequisite for stepping into that extraordinary realm.
And there was no way he could suppress the excitement burning inside him.
Without any hesitation, Ryuji laid down right there on the ground — and firmly pressed the imaginary [E] key in his mind.
The moment he "pressed E," a wave of dizziness slammed into his brain.
Countless fragmented memories exploded in his mind like a flood.
He felt himself thrown into endless darkness.
He was attacked again and again by terrifying, shadowy enemies — mysterious figures emerging from the pitch-black void, cutting through the air with deadly precision.
The only way to survive... was to feel.
To sense danger before it struck.
To dodge — purely by instinct, by sharpening his perception of the world.
Over and over, he dodged.
Over and over, he failed — cut down mercilessly time after time.
He didn't know how long he struggled there.
Didn't know how many times he "died."
But eventually...
He got it.
He grasped that feeling.
That delicate, almost ethereal sensation — of perceiving the world not with his eyes, but with his heart.
And then — he woke up.
His brain was still spinning, his whole mind groggy, like he was half-drunk.
As he slowly lifted his heavy head, vision still blurred... he noticed countless black dots floating in the sky above him.
And off to the side — Kiri had just finished unzipping another bag, completely unaware of what he'd just gone through.
It was obvious now — crystal clear.
Even though it felt like he'd just endured an eternity of brutal training in that darkness...In the real world, only an instant had passed.
He staggered to his feet, swaying a little. His head was still spinning, his vision slightly blurred, and his balance unsteady.
Clearly — unlike Kiri, who had bounced back in just a few moments — he wasn't recovering anytime soon.
At this rate, he'd be lucky if the dizziness wore off in half a day.
And it made him painfully aware of one undeniable truth.
Even with skill points...
The gap between him — an ordinary man — and those real extraordinary people like Kiri...
Was still absolutely enormous.
~~~~~~~~
Bonus chapter target: 200 PS.