“Any sword shops or museums nearby?” asked Scott.
“Not really anything we could reach before dark…” said Saiko. “I suppose that we could find some basic knives to replace it for now.”
“Don’t suppose you want to use this busted thing?” he asked her. Scott offered her his brush axe but she declined. Her sword was in slightly better condition, despite its wooden nature.
“I can upgrade it to grey? It won’t be as good as finding a better sword, but it might at least boost its usefulness for a while,” said Scott.
She nodded and then handed her battered weapon over to him. Scott fiddled with it for a moment then spent the needed equipment points to upgrade it. Their eyes widened comically as the sword began to release of soft blue flow then actually changed shaped slightly.
“What…?” asked Saiko, her shock evident.
The weapon was still battered. However, it was now sturdier and had a soft blue glow emanating from it. Scott reviewed its status and read off the information.
Sword of the Psycho
An upgraded version of Saiko Bustiko’s starting equipment. This blade has improved damage, defense, durability, and handling compared to the original. It also possesses the ability to perform Psycho Slash, a short distance energy attack.
Item Type: Edged Weapon – Sword.
Scaling Attribute: Strength
Rarity: Common
Aura: Grey
Damage: 396 | (278)
Damage Reduction: 185 | (96)
Durability: Moderately Damaged
Special Ability: Psycho Slash
- Extend the slash attack range of any slashing strike by a number of feet equal to [Spirit/4]
- This ability generates [50%] of the damage that a normal attack would create.
- This ability ignores defense [25%].
- This ability is bolstered by [1%] per point of spirit.
- This ability carries the status effect [Pass Through Damage]. It will pass through a target and damage other targets within its damage range as well. The damage generated will not be lessened.
- Increased chance to inflict the [Severed] status effect: [+5%]
- Cost: 74 EP
UPGRADE COST
Equipment EXP: 1000
Item(s): Tiny Soul Gem
Saiko’s eyes lit up like someone had plugged her into a wall socket. She wasted no time and turned away from him. She trotted forward a short distance then cried out, “Psycho Slash!” while she cut a powerful arc through the air with her upgraded weapon.
A semi-transparent blade of blue-white energy shot forward in a casual arc and impacted the wall. There was a grating sound like a knife cutting into concrete and a small cut appeared in the plaster.
“That’s it?” she asked, her expression drooping.
“Well, that’s a good six or seven feet from you,” said Scott. “Try getting closer, if you think you have the energy to pull it off again.”
“Right…” said Saiko. She stepped forward and cut the distance in half.
Her next strike was a diagonal slash from left to right, and the effect was much more noticeable. A sharp clanging side echoed from the strike zone even as a thin scar formed along the wall. The diagonal cut was shallow but easy to see.
She was much happier with those results, as she could see the usefulness. If she could cut a wall like that, then a zombie should be no problem. The energy drain was extensive, but otherwise it could help a great deal if she were surrounded.
Scott made a quick save, and they set out to explore the remaining portion of the firehouse. They found some food in the kitchen, and a few odds and ends, but nothing too interesting.
Before they left, however, Scott had one thing he wanted to do. Saiko was against it at first as it seemed like desecration, but Scott insisted.
They went through and searched all the dead bodies, easily eighty people. They found a lot of yen, as Japan was a cash-based society and people typically carried five or ten thousand yen around like that was normal. It was similar to someone from America carrying around fifty or a hundred bucks for general purposes.
He also swiped some of their debit cards, as they would not need them. Of course, a little experimentation with item conversion had shown him that they could be converted into something called Universal Yen. The same was true of the loose yen bills and coins.
Universal Yen was made by converting local yen into a universal form of the currency. Meaning, that it would hold the exact same value and appearance as yen in any given world but the cost to acquire it would vary from world to world. The universal credit card would operate at a highly unfavorable exchange rate, but if he collected money from across multiple worlds and matched that money with local currency of another world instead, he would not have to spend as many points. Basically, ten thousand universal yen would be the same as ten thousand yen in any world.
Of course, it took over a thousand yen in this world to make one universal yen note. The current value of the yen was low due to the apocalypse, and it would only continue to decline over time.
Overall, he found over five hundred thousand yen on the corpses of the dead and enough money in their bank and credit accounts to boost the total to over four million. This, of course, shrank down to a little over four thousand universal yen after the conversion. He did keep twenty thousand of the original currency to use at local gas stations and the like until the power inevitably went out.
Their identification, for those who had it, was placed into a box on top of a table in the office. A note was crafted which explained that the people shown inside the box had died. The note also included those same names, and a brief description of each person not listed. Overall, it took a little over an hour to complete their search.
As for their personal effects, all jewelry was taken, along with cell phones. The latter proved interesting, though he did not want to spend a thousand equipment points, or fourteen thousand world points to make it into a system item. He would need to do that for more than one of them for it to matter anyway, as the resulting item would be able to call another system phone from anywhere in the world, or across multiple worlds in the case of the word item version.
The current time dilation between worlds made the world phone version completely unnecessary anyway. A month in one world was half an hour in another. Pointless. Of course, once the current storyline ended and a new one began that might be different.
Scott and Saiko left the firehouse after a brief rest and headed further into the East side of the downtown area. The police station closest to them was still out of reach due to the constant influx of undead perverts running around. Unfortunately, this forced them to take a circuitous route around the area that often-included narrow alley ways and blind turn offs. More than once they nearly found themselves cornered.
“Shit,” hissed Scott as the sky began to darken. “I can’t believe we’ve barely made any progress.”
“I wonder if the others made it to the police station?” said Saiko. “They could run down a lot of the dead in small numbers, but there are just so many around here.”
“In that thing, I doubt they’d have to worry if there’s more than a hundred of them crowded around as long as they’re moving,” said Scott. “The problem would be all the abandoned cars and the wreckage. It can’t drive through that sort of thing.”
“We’re so close, but we’re not making any progress,” said Saiko.
Scott rubbed his face causing the blood and dirt to be smeared around. “What we need is a heavy vehicle of our own, but we haven’t found anything we could use because of all of the debris and wreckage.”
Saiko looked toward a small herd of zombies that were heading their way. “There’s no end to them…”
Scott frowned. At this rate they would not survive the night. They needed a way out of this never-ending situation. Their biggest problem, other than the wreckage, was the fact that they could only take down a few of zombies at a time. Bet
ween the two of them a few dozen zombies staggered out in one area were not a problem. However, there were so many towering office buildings nearby that the hordes were massing in the streets. The only way to the police station for them would be to carve a bloody path at this point.
He sighed loudly as he realized what he had to do. “Saiko, Let’s pull back to a place that isn’t as hot.”
“We’re abandoning the plan?” she asked him curiously.
“No. The sun will set in a couple of hours,” said Scott. “I don’t see how we have any choice but hunker down for the night or risk being out here in the dark.”
Saiko closed her eyes briefly and nodded. “True. We’ll just have to hope that the others are safe.”
“Nothing else we can do about it at the moment,” said Scott quietly.
The herd of zombies continued to approach them from a distance, their numbers swelling a little over time. Neither of them was concerned about this, however. They briefly discussed the situation then agreed on a place that they had seen a short while back. It was an old temple atop a hill complete with a stone wall and iron gate. A giant zombie would plow right through it, but the steepness of the hill and those walls would keep out a small horde of zombies for a few hours.
There was a kerosene heater in one of the dorm rooms where the priests would have lived. Strangely, the temple area was deserted. Perhaps the occupants had fled in order to reach the nebulous safety of a civil defense shelter. Either way, it was obvious that no one had been there in days. Not even the dead.
Scott and Saiko took turns showering. Her clothes were completely coated in blood and gore. Scott found her something to wear. It was one of those red and white outfits that Japanese shrine maidens wore in anime, though he had no idea what it was called. It was sort of sad to him, that she no longer wore her school uniform. Though, thankfully she kept the battle heels she had worn before.
They sat near the fire while the scent of shampoo and possibilities permeated the air. Now that they were clean and refreshed, their proximity and lack of danger led to quite a bit of sexual tension.
Scott took in the sight of her, beautiful in her new robes, and smiled. It had been a while since he checked her status, so he had a peek.
Saiko Bustiko
Status: Single, Nervous
Affection Rating: Conflicted – [+49]
Level: 132
Cost: 12069
Her affection toward him had certainly increased, but it was not on Summer’s level, yet. Saiko was apparently harder to get close to than the bubbly school nurse. Still, that was nearly a two-thirds drop in her waifu cost. Given their current situation, it was obvious that they were on the cusp of something profound happening in their relationship.
Scott did not pressure her, instead he leaned against her shoulder to shoulder. “This isn’t so bad.”
“Yeah. You could almost forget everything going on outside,” she said while she gazed into the dim light of the space heater.
They remained quiet for a time, each seemingly lost in their own thoughts. Scott was focused on trying to think up a plan for reaching the police station. Saiko had other things on her mind. It was inevitable that those things would come to the surface in due time, and that time was now.
“I don’t know if I can do it,” she said softly.
“Hmm? I’m surprised that there’s something you can’t do,” said Scott in a lighter tone. Though, his eyes held a hint of exhaustion. It had been a long day. Fatigue could settle in even without a status effect.
She offered a tired smile of her own. “Sorry… I just don’t know if I can do the whole waifu thing…”
Scott nodded softly. “I understand. I’m aware that I’m not the ideal love interest…”
She said nothing. Did not even look in his direction, though her eyes began to shine strangely.
“It’s a lot to ask,” he said. “Giving up your future for the sake of following some surprisingly sexy guy around while he makes time with a bunch of other women is the definition of romantic suicide…”
She snorted indelicately then leaned back. Her robes opened to reveal her soft white collarbone and a hint of her supple breasts. The intoxication scent of the body lotion she used for her shower washed over him.
It was a struggle for him not to leap upon her and kiss that collar bone. Never had he had such a thought, but the way the light caught her skin and the expression of confused innocence she wore might very well have ignited a new fetish.
It was not until she closed her eyes and tears tracked down her cheeks that his lust was dispelled. He could not fight it any longer. Instead of lust, another emotion overwhelmed him. Scott slipped his arm around her and dragged her close. “If you need to lean back and cry, then lean on me.”
For a moment she seemed to balk, but she never opened her eyes. Instead, she slowly did as he asked. Her head pressed to his shoulder, she breathed out a gentle sigh.
Scott held her gently for a while, never speaking. He had come to realize something about himself in recent days. As much as he loved the idea of the whole waifu situation, he also hated it. Summer. Saiko. They both deserved someone who could love them completely. He loved the idea of being able to start a family across the cosmos with many of his favorite anime waifus. Yet, he did not love the idea of making them unhappy because they could only have a piece of his heart.
It sounded good on paper but becoming a harem protagonist was not as easy and fun as it seemed. Not always. Once he stopped being a horndog long enough to think about the emotions involved it felt like he was destined to become a douchebag who constantly slept around on his girlfriends.
In theory, he could simply not use that system. Yet, he knew he would. Infinite worlds. Infinite romantic subplots. Infinite oppai. He was not strong enough to resist the temptation. Frankly, he did not want to resist. It was one of his pervy little dreams and given the nature of his life he could absolutely make it happen. He had tried monogamy and it always fell apart, though he had never cheated on a girlfriend in his life.
Rather than become a shitty guy who cheats on his lovers, he decided to be incredibly brunt about the situation. He was going to fuck around. Come along for the adventure, or don’t. He absolutely would not force anyone. Though, he would hope to see his harem grow.
Another moment of silence between them was broken by the sound of rain pelting the roof of the temple. The promised storm had come. Scott ignored those sounds, lost in his own thoughts as he happened to be.
She mumbled something that finally broke him out of his reverie. He almost asked her what she had said but realized her words just before her spoke. “Why would you say that?”
A soft sigh escaped her lips. “It’s true… You’re wrong.”
Saiko slipped out of his arms and drew away from him a bit. “You’ve been nothing but honest, if not a bit too honest.”
“If I’m so honest, how am I wrong?” he asked her gently.
“You’re wrong about me…” Saiko turned to look at him, her eyes red from spent tears and her own inner turmoil. “I’m the one who isn’t fit to be any man’s wife, much less a waifu.”
He thought to tell her that he disagreed, but he managed to reign in that urge. Instead, he offered her a sincere expression and asked, “Why?”
“You’ve seen that stupid anime… You tell me why?” she asked him in an accusatory tone. A flash of lightning illuminated the world outside, and thunder roared with enough force to rattle the windows a little. Yet, it was the light that flashed in her eyes that seemed truly dangerous.
Music, somber and delicate with a hint of an orchestral dirge began to play out of nowhere. If Saiko heard it, there was no sign. Her eyes were locked on his, almost daring him to deny her truth.
The world theme music, something he had only heard vaguely here and there since it had been unlocked, had kicked it up a notch to turn this into a cinematic moment between them. Scott slowly nodded. He had not spoken of her inner world as
shown on the screen. It was time to lay his cards out on the table.
Scott related to her what he knew. When she was a few years younger, she had been accosted in the street by an older man. He had pushed her against a wall and molested her. However, she had not been afraid. Instead she was excited. She used her martial arts skills to break that man. She beat him and felt a sexual thrill from the result of completely dominating and hurting him.
Her eyes searched his for a hint of disgust but saw none. Slowly, she closed her eyes.
She took a shuddering breath then breathed it out again to calm her nerves. “That’s what you think happened?”
Saiko lunged forward and stared directly into his eyes once more. Her eyes were wide open; wild and crazy harbingers of her dark truth soon to be revealed. One might call such an expression, crazy eyes.
“You think I’m that simple?” she asked him, practically shouted it into his face. A manic laugh escaped her lips and she shook her head slowly from side to side, her crazy eyes remaining locked on target.
“I didn’t beat than man…” she said with a laugh that was somehow sad and jubilant. “I cut that man apart and laughed as he screamed!”
‘Whoa.’ Thought Scott as she revealed her dark truth.
“I beat. I stabbed. I mutilated that man…” said Saiko. “I even thought to keep his testicles as a war trophy.”
Scott nodded his head like that was a normal thing to hear. Honestly, he did not know what to think but he could not blame her for killing a guy who had tried to rape her.
She leaned away from him and exposed her supple white flesh to him once more. Enticing. Innocent. In need of love and tender caresses. “His blood covered my face, dripped down my breasts.”
Power Fantasy Page 32