Eishi called over Airi and had her summon four mutated zombies roaming outside.

  Their levels varied from three-star to five-stars—all at the first-order.

  The moment he took out a mutated zombie crystal worth 300 golden grapes, their mindless growling ensued. Their eyes shot straight to the crystal in Eishi’s hands.

  He threw it over to the one with the S rated Mental Shock talent.

  Crunch-!

  Her specially-enhanced teeth broke down the crystal swiftly. It wasn’t even ten seconds when she finished consuming it.

  ‘Right. This one…’

  Eishi created a mental image of a ‘resonance scan’. His mind grew slightly heavy, the genetic energy stored in his muscles and skin depleting slightly.

  He looked at the mutated zombie. Like a built-in x-ray, he saw the bright red crystal inside her head. Rays of red light converged onto the amethyst crystal.

  ‘She grew stronger.’

  Batches upon batches of zombie crystals were given to the four zombies.

  The results silenced Eishi.

  ‘...The numbers don’t match.’

  The rating of one’s innate talent decides their resource consumption. SS rated ones take half of the SSS rated ones. For S rated ones, it is a tenth of the SSS rated ones. Their differences y not just in the talents’ bonus attributes, but also the volume of ‘genetic energy’.

  To use a power, one must consume both spirit and genetic energy. It is a Mental Bar and Mana Bar, respectively.

  In most cases, the mental bar goes down first. Eishi’s [Time Dominator] is very demanding. This is where the mana bar comes in.

  The breakthrough to the second-order offered another way of using the mana bar—electromagnetic fields. There are also talents that do not consume spirit, only genetic energy.

  In cases where the mental bar is depleted, the mana bar can still be used.

  ‘They consumed much less than Haruno. About half of theirs?’

  A terrifying conjecture formed in his mind.

  “Continue.”

  “Um.”

  Airi ordered the zombies to chew on the crystals non-stop. The two had been outside for a few hours now.

  Seeing the [Second-order, Two-stars] in the zombies’ panel, Eishi’s heart sank. They also captured another female zombie along the way. Her A rated talent made it a trifle to force-feed her zombie crystals.

  Shockingly, the number of crystals she consumed is the same as that of S rated mutated zombies. Eishi did not hesitate to kill her, gaining a second-order zombie crystal.

  ‘Fuck. So that’s how it was.’

  Mutated zombies evolve differently. Their consumption is fixed regardless of talent rating. Even if a zombie has a SSS rated talent, they will consume the same as an A rated human esper.

  Their disadvantages are apparent. Their genetic energy is different from human espers—it is weaker. They also did not receive attribute bonuses from their innate talents.

  The most shocking thing was the zombies not being limited to first-order crystals. Unlike human espers that require second rank for second-order, they can continue using first-order zombie crystals to evolve.

  They are weak when pitted against a human esper of the same level. But, they level up faster than humans, which enables them to overwhelm enemies through their higher levels. Their attributes are also focused on one aspect, hence those swift and burly zombies.

  Humans and zombies have their advantages and disadvantages. However, it is the humans who are severely handicapped at the moment.

  ‘Guns should still suppress these high-level zombies. Hopefully.’

  Eishi and Airi returned to the vil. The four second-order zombies remained patrolling outside. “I feel like they became harder to control.”

  “Can you still do it now?”

  “Yes…”

  He ended up not leaving these zombies with more crystals. Airi’s spirit attribute suffices to control them now, though it is hard to say once they level up uncontrolbly.

  Finally, he took out the ‘enhanced’ M9A3. Eishi left a vil, found a secluded street with zero zombies, and positioned his phone’s camera to the wall in front.

  Bang-!

  The loud and crisp gunshot resounded throughout the entire street. Eishi looked at the huge crater on the white wall, his jaws almost dropping to the ground.

  The recoil it produced is also incomparable to the previous M9A3. A normal person will have their arms numbed after one shot.

  ‘This is a hand cannon, not a handgun!’

  When he tested it on several normal zombies, their bodies exploded.

  That’s right.

  Bodies.

  His arm felt slightly numb, but that was it.

  ‘This can deal with the third-order zombies, no doubt. If this was a rifle, it’s an overkill.’

  Eishi returned to the vil with a ‘nice’ harvest. He coincided with Saeko’s group. He pulled the team captain over and instructed her to snap the katana in half.

  Although bewildered, Saeko carried out his instructions.

  [Confirmed consumption of Eastern Curved Bde. A rebate of 9,227 times has been activated. 9,227 Eastern Curved Bdes have been credited to the system space.]

  “Wait for a while. I have a gift for you.”

  Eishi’s figure rushed to the basement. He saw a bar appear on the synthesis workshop’s screen.

  He did not hesitate to pour in 9,000 copies of Saeko’s prior bde.

  Moments ter, a brand new katana emerged out of the darkness. Its appearance did not differ, but when he tried to wield it, he felt its drastic weight increase.

  [Modern-forged Katana (Second Rank)]

  Details: A transcendent weapon modified from the blueprints of an older cold weapon. The metal essences are extracted and then compressed to its absolute limits, imbuing them with hints of evolutionary energy.

  ‘Evolutionary energy… That’s where genetic energy comes from. That’s how the M9A3 earned its strength…’

  As soon as he brought it over to Saeko, the tter’s eyes lit up. Her fingertip hovered above the bde.

  “This shouldn’t be possible…”

  “I mean, espers only appeared in fiction a week ago.”

  “My bad…” She gave him an apologetic look. “I want to try it out.”

  “Only in the yard.”

  “Mhm.”

  Eishi saw her walk out like a child with a brand new toy.

  ‘Everyone should receive a second rank weapon. By then, third-order zombies and whatnot… we stand a chance against them.’

  While the others were preparing dinner, he went to Saya’s room. He remembered how he neglected her since this morning.

  When he came in, she was busy watching live feeds of various different zombies. She sat in front of the desk while writing something on a notebook.

  Saya’s concentration was broken. A hint of grievance and anger appeared in her eyes, though she forced herself to swallow it down.

  “These are for you.”

  Eishi pced a bowl of golden grapes, cherries, and peaches on her desk. There are also a batch of crystal-like substances wrapped in cloth.

  “Have you seen other espers? This is one way to become one. Eating these fruits, which I dubbed as evolution fruits.”

  He expined the matters of being an esper one-by-one. There are also the mental images for absorption and using her innate talent.

  Saya stared bnkly at these items. Her group struggled to survive. They hadn’t encountered any of these ‘fruits’ either. It could only be said that comparison is the thief of joy.

  While others are still surviving, Eishi had already figured out and obtained things on becoming an esper.

  This action of his raised her favorability to 70%.

  ‘Smart women… I hope I can find more of them.’

  *****

  Eishi held back on thinking with his lower head. It would be awkward if the others saw Saya limping during dinnertime.

  The night passed normally. He broke the news of third-order zombies appearing in the city, raising everyone’s vigince. The rather awkward air from yesterday’s dinner wasn’t repeated now.

  Though one thing was for sure:

  The girls kept looking at Eishi.

  They knew well that the girls who did it with him received several new ‘superpowers’. The stacked [Romantic Link], [Healthy Circle], [Lucky Eyes], [Martial Master], [Swift Runner], and [Study Expert] are extremely terrifying.

  A huge disparity appeared between those who did it and those who did not.

  The most sharp-eyed one, Yukino, had long noticed Megumi’s prolonged disappearance. They are closer than the rest, mainly because of their status of not being Eishi’s women.

  Her disappearance already indicated something.

  ‘Nee-chan… To think she would…’

  The most clueless one here was the busty Shizuka. She kept on splurging on food, enjoying the exquisite tempura curry they had for dinner.

  The group dispersed after the dinner ended. Eishi went to the rooftop and saw a thin yer of snow on the ground.

  Needless to say, someone is cleaning it every day.

  He melted this snow using his ambient body temperature. The chilling wind turned warm and cozy.

  “Zombies… and zergs.”

  Eishi looked at the sight of a ruined city. Faint red mist covered the lower grounds, though it is nothing to his superhuman sight.

  He clearly saw the crater emit faint red fog. The anticipated arrival of these insectoids hasn’t occurred yet.

  Back then, his first thought was to explore it in advance. But when he learned of the zombies’ terrifying growth rate, he chose to take advantage of this ‘peaceful’ time to do everything that has to be done—practical tests and the likes.

  The two third-order mutated zombies alone weighed in Eishi’s mind. These alien invaders could only be stronger, not weaker.

  “Tomorrow. I will halt their combat exercises. Then contact the city hall shelter. Taking advantage of it is also possible…”

  His mutterings were cut short when he heard footsteps coming from behind.

  “Hiratsuka-sensei. Are you here to gaze at the stars?”

  “...Hiraoka.”

  A moment of hesitation was all it took before she spoke out her real thoughts.

  “You don’t have to burden yourself with everything.”

  “...”

  Eishi fell silent. He turned around and stared at his homeroom teacher.

  ‘Should I have expected this..?’

  Shizuka-sensei was one of the few who noticed his deepening worries. Her way of helping him was rather… unorthodox.

  “Do it with me.”

  Her voice was so low he vaguely caught wind of it. Her previously composed face, now abashed from shyness, avoided his gaze.

  ‘Really…’

  Eishi did not give her the chance to rescind her offer. He closed the distance between them, hugged her waist with his arm, and sealed her lips with his.

  The faint taste of toothpaste spread to his mouth.

  ‘She prepared herself..?’

  Finding this gesture cute, Eishi strengthened his offensive. His tongue slid inside hers, skillfully entangling with her tongue.

  The twenty-nine year old Shizuka never experienced anything like this. She immediately fell into a passive position.

  ‘I… doing this… with my student..!’

  The st fsh of struggle appeared in her eyes… before being repced with a guilty pleasure.

  An ambiguous atmosphere emerged between the two. The separation of their lips could not remove it.

  Shizuka-sensei saw him fsh a naughty look. Before she knew it, she was already being carried in his arms. She completely lost the initiative, like a fish in a chopping block.

  ‘I… I…’

  The extreme sense of shame penetrated her very being. It is undeniable, however, that a part of her likes this.

  Once the two arrived in Eishi’s bedroom, he pced her down on the bed. She expected for the ‘action’, only for him to bury his face on her chest. He immersed himself in this sense of “security”, further empowered by Shizuka-sensei’s head pats.

  It sted until this sense of security reverted to the most primal desires.

  He skillfully took out his shirt and pants, revealing his chiseled physique. It was outstanding enough for Shizuka-sensei’s eyes to regain a hint of crity.

  Guilt and whatnot…

  They are all thrown into the window.

  Now, she is just like the others—a woman longing to be loved.

  She let Eishi do all the moving. He unbuttoned her long-sleeves and long pants, revealing patches of snow-white skin. Her bck-ced bra hugged her considerable breasts. Her underwear beneath also matched its grandeur.

  ‘This… Hiratsuka-sensei. The best girl in Oregairu. The one who helped me a lot in the past year…’

  Eishi felt like he was dreaming… but he did not let it hinder the next event.

  Under her embarrassed face, he unclipped her bra. Sweat trickled down to her cleavage as it was removed. All his nose could detect was her scent mixed with sweat.

  “En..!”

  Shizuka-sensei let out an uncontrolled yelp when he bit on her nipple. The tip of his tongue circled around it, his eyes glued to her reactions.

  One profound realization after having sex dozens, if not hundreds of times, is that the partner’s reactions matter. It is not just a matter of thrusting and feeling pleasure through her inside’s inner folds.

  At least, Eishi appreciates it as much as that.

  His hands wandered around her waist. His left fingertips teased her supple skin, earning Shizuka-sensei’s jolt every now and then.

  Before long, his nose caught the scent of her floral discharge.

  Eishi’s fingers crawled on her wet underwear. His finger tracked the softened wet fabric, eliciting intermittent moans from her mouth.

  Seeing her becoming more tense, he chose not to dey further. He propped himself up. His hands held her long legs. Eishi lifted them up until her ankles touched his shoulders.

  His thick flesh rod had long been erect.

  The moment he met her teary eyes, Eishi thrust his waist forward.

  The expected hymen breaking did not occur. Her inner folds clung tightly to the surface of his rod’s skin, sending electric waves to the crown of his skull.

  His eyes widened as a naughty thought fshed in his eyes.

  “Hiratsuka-sensei… You used that toy, did you?”

  “I-I…”

  Only rambled mutterings came out of her mouth. Shizuka-sensei was so flustered she could not expin herself.

  Eishi’s thrusts never stopped. As it went on, he felt her legs tremble… weaken. His thumb traveled from her thigh up to her ankles, rampantly massaging it.

  Her eyes narrowed in comfort, almost rolling upwards. The sounds of flesh striking each other, coupled with her unintelligible murmurs, filled the room.

  ‘I always forget about this…’

  He hastily gave her a [Life Nurturing Pill] through his fingers… but Shizuka-sensei’s mouth refused to let go. Her tongue began to swirl around his thumb. Her bold and lewd expression synchronized with her insides, squeezing him even tighter.

  Not long after, Eishi gave in. The euphoric sensation of his cum’s release overpped with the rawest sensations inside her flesh. Their deep and loud breaths resounded inside the room.

  Seeing Shizuka-sensei in such a vulnerable position triggered Eishi’s desires.

  “Wait, Hiraoka—”

  Round two soon began.