"Whew…"
Rubbing his temples again, Ryuji finally felt a little better, though his head still felt burning hot. There was no doubt — this was definitely a side effect from that skill book.
"Hope this won't shorten my life…"
He muttered with some concern. But honestly, even if he had to do it all over again, he wouldn't hesitate to use it.
The reason was simple — now, as long as he closed his eyes, he could easily sense the direction of the wind around him, as well as anything moving within three meters.
It was a strange sensation — the bigger or faster something moved, the easier it was for him to pick up on it.
Of course, this wasn't some almighty ability. Strictly speaking, he had only just learned the skill. What it allowed him to do was to vaguely feel the presence of things nearby — to notice when something was approaching quickly.
Very vague. He could only sense something was there — that was all.
Ryuji didn't know how much this skill enhanced someone like Kiri, who already possessed extraordinary perception abilities. But for him, it was nothing short of amazing.
Because he could clearly feel that, ever since learning this skill, his reaction speed had improved — especially when he closed his eyes and focused, his ability to dodge and respond became noticeably sharper.
If he invested his next skill points into Agility, his speed might become terrifying.
But the most important thing…
This was all power granted by the 7 Days to Die world's system — meaning that others could obtain it too. And if they were naturally stronger than him, they could easily surpass him.
That realization left him feeling a little dejected. He couldn't help but open his system interface once again.
"So seriously… what's the point of my own golden finger?"
His system seemed practically useless — aside from telling him this was all part of some war for dimensional control, it hadn't explained anything else.
And of the two abilities listed under his skills, 7 Days to Die — Master of the Dimension was clearly from this world.
As for Endless Traveler — who knew if that came from here or somewhere else.
In short, it was useful… but right now, utterly powerless.
However...
Level: 1
Skills: 7 Days to Die - Master of the Dimension (32%),Endless Traveler - LV1 (35%)
Energy: 495
"…It's already gone up to 32%? But I didn't feel anything at all…"
Ryuji stared at the progress bar for Master of the Dimension, tongue clicking in disbelief.
All he'd done was survive the zombie horde here — did that really count as 'exploring a dimension'?
Or… was this world exactly like he'd guessed — a place where the difficulty kept rising the longer you stayed?
What really bothered him, though, was that Level 1.
He had absolutely no clue how to level it up.
If leveling up meant killing monsters, then what was going on? He'd killed so many zombies already, but that level bar hadn't moved at all!
Still… deep down, he had a feeling.
If he could just figure out how to raise that system level — if he could break past this barrier — he'd finally obtain the extraordinary power he dreamed of.
"…What a giant pile of mysteries."
Shaking his head, he stopped overthinking and turned his gaze toward Kiri.
Watching Kiri pull out ridiculous items one after another from her inventory, he honestly couldn't help but feel jealous of her absurd luck.
But at the same time… if she didn't have that kind of luck, would she have ever survived the chaos of that lawless zone she came from?
Probably not.
Leaving Kiri to her treasure-hunting spree, he headed toward where Tsunade was working.
When he found her, Tsunade was busy forging iron pillars and system blocks near their base — her hands never stopped moving.
She wasn't adding anything else to their already well-built floating house.
Instead — about five meters out from the edge of the floating platform — she had begun constructing a tall, solid wall, intending to completely encircle their home.
This was the kind of thing only Tsunade could pull off easily — because only she didn't have to worry about falling off the edge.
Tsunade worked fast, by the time he arrived, Tsunade had already finished constructing the basic framework. All that was left was to fit the iron pillars into place one by one, gradually building a solid fortress.
Sure, it might not be enough to completely stop an overwhelming tide of zombies… but at the very least, it would buy them precious time before the horde reached their doorstep.
When Tsunade noticed Ryuji approaching, she finally paused, leaping lightly down to his side. She pointed toward the trader's territory in the distance — a place where system blocks couldn't exist — and began explaining her plan.
"I'm thinking of using my brute strength to nail down some steel plates, building a platform all the way across to the trader's zone. Once that's done, we can build a roof over everything. That way, those zombies won't be able to pile directly on top of this floating house anymore."
She smirked faintly. "It'll ease everyone's nerves a little — not having corpses hanging overhead. And it'll make the defense line way more stable. We won't have to worry about them attacking us from above."
There was a hint of emotion in Tsunade's voice. Just a few days ago, she'd been terrified this entire floating house might collapse.
Truth be told, Ryuji and Kiri had all been haunted by the same fear.
That's why Tsunade had decided to tackle the problem head-on.
She'd even repaired the underground base tunnel that had been dug through during the last attack — sealing it off completely this time with a more straightforward, reinforced design.
According to her plan, any zombies wanting to reach their floating home would first have to dig through three layers of solid steel plating. Only then could they even begin to threaten the house above — or the new underground defensive structures she'd secretly been working on.
"Mm, thanks. Honestly, who knows what we'll run into next…" Ryuji nodded approvingly as he examined the sturdy foundations Tsunade had laid out.
But just as he was about to say something else, a sudden, indescribable sensation swept over his entire body.
It was primal.
It was instinctive.
Danger!
Ryuji's instincts screamed.
Without hesitation, he whipped his head around toward the source of that ominous feeling — only to see a grotesque vulture, stripped of feathers and skin, diving straight at him. Its razor-sharp talons were aimed right at his eyes!
Acting purely on reflex, he yanked a machine gun from his inventory and unleashed a burst of bullets. In an instant, the monstrous bird exploded into a cloud of blood and shredded flesh.
But it wasn't over.
Far from it.
His eyes narrowed. In the distance — beyond the trees — an enormous shadow was rising. No... not just one. A whole flock of those hideous, skinless vultures was surging out of the forest, heading straight for them like a black tide.
And that wasn't all.
Even the clouds overhead looked... wrong.
A zombie horde on the ground — and now a vulture swarm from the skies?!
Cursing under his breath, he didn't waste a second. He rushed over to Tsunade, who had collapsed from shock, slung her over his shoulder, and roared at the top of his lungs.
"KIRI! Get back here! We've got company!!"
No sooner had the words left his mouth than the deep, thunderous roar of an engine erupted behind him.
Before he could even process what was happening, a figure shot past him like a bullet — leaping clean over his head on a motorcycle.
That's right.
A motorcycle.
Ryuji stared, utterly dumbfounded.
You've gotta be kidding me... she can even pull that out of nowhere?!
Kiri landed the bike with ease, dust kicking up around her in true wasteland-style flair. Without missing a beat, she whipped out dual machine guns and unleashed a storm of bullets — not at Ryuji, but right behind him.
He didn't even need to look.
He could feel the swarm of vultures closing in.
"Get inside!!" Kiri shouted.
Providing cover fire, she backed toward the floating house while he carried Tsunade through the entrance. As soon as they were in, Kiri slammed the door shut behind them.
Ryuji carefully set Tsunade down, then rushed to one of the firing ports to continue the defense.
But just as he raised his weapon—
A streak of red light blazed across the sky.
Something — or someone — was crashing down not far from their base.
Ryuji's heart skipped a beat — and as the dust and debris settled, two figures gradually emerged from within.
It was Rias — panting heavily, clearly exhausted — and beside her stood a bewildered, wide-eyed Lux, looking completely lost amidst the chaos.
And right behind them...
A nightmarish swarm of zombie-like mutant birds filled the sky, blotting out the sun with their sheer numbers.
It didn't take a genius to figure out what had happened.
Rias had come here seeking help.
And she'd brought hell right along with her.
~~~~~~~~
Bonus chapter target: 200 PS.