You're Not My Match Anymore!

Inside the shelter's 29th underground floor, two figures were huddled in a corner. One was sniffling like a kid who was scolded by her parents, while the other was showing a light smile as she patted her back.

"W-What should I do, Selen? Hvir hates me now!"

The one crying, Garuda, grumbled as she continued to bawl her eyes out. The other girl, Selen, could only shake her head exasperatedly. "And it's from something you did before, right? Then just apologize to him later. I'll even come with you if you want company."

"No way! Not after what I did!" Garuda roared, lifting her face from her legs, covered in tears and snot.

"And what is it that you did, anyway?" Selen asked, finally unable to hold back her curiosity.

Garuda was a lucky girl who received a total of six skills after God gave out the system. Other than the three that she was willing to disclose to others, the other three were sort of "problematic," so she decided not to reveal them to anyone.

"I... no, the me in Hvir's last loop cast [Succubus's Touch] on him! Can you imagine?!" She roared, wanting confirmation from her friend. "I turned him into a horndog loyal to me without asking his permission!"

"You used that on him?" Selen, who was her long-time friend, was of course privy to Garuda's skills.

"Doesn't that skill last indefinitely? What would you do if the effect didn't vanish after he respawned? You'd basically have created a handsome stalker that's out for your body without your knowledge!"

"That..." Garuda looked guilty, pressing her two fingers together. "I-It seems like I accidentally activated it while we were... doing the deed."

"You..."

Selen was lost for words. Although she wanted to comfort her friend, there was nothing else to say but, "Then it's your fault; apologize properly."

Selen looked at her watch and, with a monotone voice, spouted excuses. "Ah! Looks like it's time for the materials to arrive. I gotta go!"

"Ah! Selen!"

Garuda reached out to her friend, but Selen went on toward the elevator without turning to glance behind her. Not wanting to be alone, Garuda wiped her face clean with her handkerchief before running to catch up. "Wait for me!"

---

The time was six in the evening, and the materials for Selen's Weapon Crafting ability just arrived. I guess it's partly my fault for sleeping so long, but will she even have enough time to arm the entire military?

Me? I was pulled by Major Lucas to do a crash course about the monsters. It wasn't much, just explaining the weak points of monsters, the varieties that would attack the shelter within the next few days, and the best ways to utilize their abilities.

About the last one, rather than an expert's opinion, they were asking me for a "veteran's" opinion. After all, I have some experience fighting the monsters already, so I should be able to give them functional suggestions... or so they decided.

Anyway, I wasn't let go until it was 10 p.m. just a few more hours before the apocalypse began.

"Hvir, here's your weapon."

While we were waiting, they began distributing the weapons Selen had made. They were mostly simple, with functionality prioritized to make them easier to mass produce.

However, from my point of view, the weapons she made were a lot better compared to the first batches she made on past loops. Was the phrase I passed to her the key reason?

"Hmm..."

I inspected the mass-produced swords and daggers, but other than the plain appearance, the sharpness wasn't any worse than before. After she created enough for all the personnel, she then began to reconstruct the grenades in stock, using the last two hours to create the anti-monster frag grenades.

Oh, by the way, I just learned that with every kill done with weapons she made, Selen was gaining experience little by little. During the last loop, before I headed for the mall once more, she was already level 5 by then.

Now, she should be leveling up at a much faster rate, given that I'm already at level 11 right at the start.

Time quickly passed after that, and when it was 10 minutes before midnight, Major Lucas finally gave the order for everyone to assemble.

"Remember! We are all fighting to protect the citizens, our friends, and our loved ones who are hiding in the shelter! Keep that in mind as you wave your weapons! We're fighting to survive and not to die!"

"SIR! YES! SIR!"

Everyone saluted his words before we were broken into smaller teams and scattered around the camp. The entire camp covers about half a kilometer, as if demarcating the range of the underground shelter, so it's quite wide.

With the number of soldiers barely above a thousand, it was hard to defend all points simultaneously. As such, there are only eight main teams, manning the eight directions from the north, with 45-degree angle gaps between teams.

I was set to protect the north main gate, the first location that would be attacked by monsters, together with about a hundred or so soldiers. Among them, I saw the two psychics that contributed the most to every loop, feeling relief from their presence.

"Everyone, attention!"

The radio hanging in our breast pockets echoed simultaneously with Major Lucas's voice.

"The Monster Invasion is about to begin. Mark your watches! 3... 2... 1... MARK!"

*BEEP!*

Everyone's watch released a beep just as the time reached midnight. The invasion had begun!

"...!"

And, as expected, I felt the presence of the two big wolves appear soon after, further to our north. As if knowing where the humans were, the wolves quickly turned south and ran, heading straight to where we were.

"Monster incoming! Giant Wolf, one click to the north!"

And finally, the scout at the top of the watchtower found the enemy. The same as before, he only found one of them. The second one had already gone through a different, more hidden route, the same as before.

"But something's different compared to before!"

I ran to where the wolf would appear, radioing my movements just in case.

As soon as I reached the spot, the first big wolf reached the soldiers, and the battle began without delay. Fierce shouts and the clanking of swords against the wolf's tough pelt echoed all over the place.

"Yo! Long time no see, you bastard!"

And as if to match the other one's timing, the other wolf popped out of an alley and headed to where I was. As before, it was large as hell. However, the intimidating feeling I was getting from it in the past was completely gone.

A confident smile appeared on my face as soon as I realized this point. I pointed my sword forward and taunted. "Come! I'll pay you back for killing me before!"