Pause! Pause! Pause!

"Do you think I am changing?" Haru asked.

It hadn't even been a full day since chaos ensued, with Zombies and monsters wreaking havoc everywhere. Initially, Haru found himself forced to kill people who had transformed into zombies just to survive, and whenever he killed, a troubling feeling lingered in his heart. 

However, after acquiring power from his Class and System, that persistent unease just vanished, making Haru uncertain whether this change was for the better or worse. 

["Do you dislike the change? The world has turned into a kind of disaster, and only those who can adjust survive. When they talk about 'Survival of the fittest,' it's not just about being strong but adapting fast to new things. From what I see, you are just getting used to these sudden changes, and that's not a bad thing."] 

Then his System added, ["And aren't you trying your best to keep her safe from harm? There's nothing wrong with that. Think about it, how can you protect her if you start questioning the changes in yourself?"]

But Haru did not reply; he fell silent as he pondered a few things.

["What? You think I am wrong?"]

"No, you're right..." Haru replied after a while, but a lingering doubt remained in his heart which he forcefully suppressed due to some reasons. 

'I don't have any other choice.' He then turned his head back and looked at Aki's sleeping face with a mix of worry and love. All the choices he was making were to protect her, and he was determined to continue doing so no matter what it takes.

["Hehe~ I am always right! Yare~ Yare~ what would you do if I wasn't here with you? But... wait a minute..."] her usual proud words continued to hit his ears, but then her tone changed as she remembered something and yelled, ["Now that I remember, I should be anger with you!!! Argh!!"] 

Haru sighed and shook his head as he asked, "Don't tell me you are still angry about the jumping part?"

["Oh... I almost forgot about that..."] 

"..."

["But wait! This is more important anything else!"]

"What is it?"

["You haven't called me by my actual name properly!!"]

"Isn't it Mimi?"

["URGH!!! It's not!!!!"]

"...what is it then?"

["Hm! Hm! Listen properly this time and remember my name!"]

"Just tell already!" But what Haru didn't know was how much he would regret asking her that.

"My name is Miralindorinthaliumisabethaloniousquarendevoria-"

"Eh?" As soon as she started telling her name or whatever, Haru's mind short-circuited as he listened. But, much to his panic, his System wasn't stopping and continued. 

"-norastralithenomixiuscorianthiadelphicusaragonventusrexilifarianthesiusquenveraevoria"

"Wait!!" Haru quickly shouted and stopped her as he felt his mind would blow up if she continued.

["How rude can you be!?"]

"I am rude?! I did not ask for your whole ancestry! Just tell YOUR name!"

["But it is my name."]

"Eh?"

["In fact, it is just my first name. Then there is also the last name which goes as Mirellioninthandraloxiferianteliosandra-"]

But before she could continue, Haru quickly stopped her, "Pause! Pause! Pause!"

["Why are you being so mean? I was just saying my name..."]

"That's not a name! Urgh! I think you just doubled the pain in my head," he exclaimed, grasping his head with one hand.

["Well, that's not my problem."]

"Anyways, I am not calling that whatever you just said! Mimi is much better since both your first and last name starts with Mi!"

["Hey! That's so--"] Suddenly, Mimi stopped as she was saying something.

Sensing the change, Haru couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong?"

["Rest time over. The guests are already here."] She said.

"!!" Surprised, Haru looked at the barricaded door, which was twenty meters away from where he was resting. 

Even though there were loud bangs on the door while he was resting, he felt confused because the door still appeared locked and barricaded. So, he asked, "Are you sure--"

Before he could question her, he heard a strange sound from his right – something hitting against the wall. 

Haru immediately got up and unsheathed his sword, narrowing his eyes toward the terrace's edge on his right.

Under the moonlight, a bloodied hand with claw-like nails appeared, grasping the outer edge of the terrace. In a second, the hand pulled up a monstrous being onto the terrace. 

"GROWL!!!" The Zombie, appearing more disgusting and thinner than others, angrily growled at Haru. The notable difference was the huge black nail-like claws that shone under the moonlight. More than that, this disgusting zombie emitted a high-level aura, surprising Haru.

Rather than moving on its two feet, it started crawling on all fours, darting toward Haru at a very high speed.

"What the heck? Did they just crawl their way up here!?" 

["Forget about that and focus! There are two! Another one is on your left!"]

[You have encountered two Awakened Level 12 Zombie Crawlers!]

"!!" Not just one, but two terrifying Zombies, or rather Crawlers, came for Haru by climbing the building. Seeing one crawling toward him, Haru unconsciously raised his left hand to use his Black Chain spell and stop it.

["DON'T! Although they are of a higher level, just use your sword and trust your abilities!"] Mimi quickly stopped him since there was still a bit of pain lingering in his head, and she knew he couldn't risk using it.

"Alright!" Trusting Mimi's words, Haru, instead of waiting for the Crawler on the right to come close to him, dashed toward it in an instant.

Just as Mimi said, although Haru was weaker than the crawler in terms of level, he still outmatched it in terms of speed due to his extremely high stats.

As Haru was already in front of it, the crawler was startled but it extended its dangerous and seemingly razor-like sharp claws at him.

Despite an incoming attack, Haru did not flinch nor dodge; instead, he used his left hand to stop its arm from the side and slashed his sword at it.

"Growl!!" As it felt its arm severed, the crawler growled as blood sprouted out, but Haru didn't stop there.

Slash! Right after cutting off its arm, Haru then swung his sword horizontally, severing its head within a matter of two seconds.

[You have killed an Awakened level 12 Crawler! 1200 EXP gained!]

[HP + 30, STR +10]

Haru then shifted his gaze toward the remaining crawler, which had used their short battle as an advantage and had already sneaked up on him. 

Seeing this, Haru strongly jerked the bloodied arm of the crawler that he had just killed at the incoming one.

"Growl!!" The crawler roared angrily as it saw the claw coming its way and used its own claw to attack it.

Slash! Just as it removed the incoming claw away from its vision, a blackened sword swiftly followed and severed its head.

[You have killed an Awakened level 12 Crawler! 1340 EXP gained!]

[Prana + 20, Charm + 12]

"Phew. That was quick." With all threat eliminated, Haru exhaled after he jerked off the blood from his sword and sheathed it back. 

["That's what she said."]

"..."