Apocalypse Landlord: My Tenants Are All Beautiful Heroines.-Chapter 5: Skill Upgrade

Step-aunt? Well, it isn’t what I was expecting, but her loyalty and affection make sense now.

Aiden was about to further their talks when he realized something was off.

Oh wait, she knows this guy... No wonder she noticed this guy wasn’t talking like himself.

A frown appeared on his face, realizing he would have to spin a tale. Thankfully, he didn’t have to think too much about it.

"I’m sorry... I didn’t recognize you," he said, clutching his head. "I must have hit my head or something, I can’t seem to remember anything about anyone."

Alisha gasped and immediately pulled Aiden into her arms. It seemed her maternal instincts were quite strong.

"Oh, my sweet boy," she whispered, checking his face. "How unfortunate can a soul be? First, your father left you after my sister’s death, and now this..."

While Alisha was pouring her heart on him, Aiden sensed something was off. When he said he didn’t remember much, Alisha reacted concerned, but the glint in her eyes said another story.

It is weird. I lived right next door, and yet she acted surprised after seeing me? No, wait, she could be surprised because I came as her landlord.

It was a plausible explanation. Alisha probably thought it would be some random weirdo, and seeing Aiden took her by surprise.

But then, why didn’t James recognize him? They lived nearby, so Alisha should have introduced them, right?

He turned to Lily and checked her age in the tenant section. She was seven, which meant Alisha and James had to have been together for eight years at least. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

The timelines are too hazy, and the lack of information is giving me a headache.

Aiden didn’t really care about his body’s past. But if he were to use Alisha, it would certainly come in handy. He decided to wonder about it later, but Alisha had other plans.

"I’m sorry I never came to meet you, even though we were neighbors..." she whispered. "After my sister’s passing, no one wanted anything to do with you—"

"Was... I responsible for it?" Aiden asked, looking pitiful.

"Of course not! It was her own decision, but grieving hearts can turn... sour. I know it is a horrible thing to say, but maybe it is a good thing you forgot about all that."

Aiden nodded in agreement. He was already getting bored with all the sentimental talk when he wanted to experiment around with his skills.

It seemed abusing his power to deal with James had left him with an itch to do more. He couldn’t exactly do it while Alisha kept talking.

"So... you’re my landlord now," Alisha chuckled, clinging to her cardigan. "I think it means you have awakened some class?"

"I think so," Aiden shrugged. "Oh, before I forget, here are the things I mentioned in the contract."

[Spent $1,200 to purchase 50 Liters of sealed water.]

[Spent $1,800 to purchase 20 packs of Ready-to-Eat Survival Meals.]

[Spent $600 to purchase a small power inverter.]

[Spent $700 to purchase 2 rechargeable battery packs.]

[Remaining Funds: $11,995,680]

With a flick of his hands, bottles of sealed water, food, and an inverter with two batteries materialized out of thin air.

Aiden expected Alisha to be surprised and even shocked. Instead, she happily tore off a bottle and handed it to Lily. Seeing the little girl’s chapped lips pricked Aiden’s heart.

He might have lived centuries as a villain, but he still had a soft spot for kids.

While they watered their parched throats, Aiden got to work and hooked the inverter to the batteries. Thanks to the maintenance skill, it was a piece of cake for him. Seconds later, light filled the dust-covered apartment.

"The lights are on!" Lily squealed, spilling water over herself.

Aiden smiled, seeing her dance around the room.

[Tenant: Alisha Irwin’s affection rose to 79%]

[Tenant: Alisha Irwin’s loyalty rose to 45%]

[Tenant: Lily Irwin’s affection rose to 89%]

[Tenant: Lily Irwin’s loyalty rose to 25%]

Winning a kid over is soo simple.

It were the notifications related to Alisha that took Aiden by surprise. He turned to see her staring at him with admiration that wasn’t there before.

"Ahem, can I call you Alisha?" he asked.

"Uh... sure, I mean, we aren’t related or anything, so... it’s alright."

Aiden caught the way she emphasized they weren’t related, but ignored it. After all, he had no intention of doing anything to her. At least not until she had showered.

Unfortunately, as a landlord, he couldn’t just fill up the water tanks for them to shower.

"Aiden... can I ask you something?" Alisha asked shyly.

He nodded.

"Could you, I mean, do you have any strange ability to fix the shower? There’s no water anywhere and... I thought maybe you could do it?"

"Wait, your shower isn’t working?"

Alisha shook her head.

So, how do I have working bathrooms and a kitchen sink in my apartment? A system benefit?

[Bingo.]

You can leave now, my dearest system. No need to dawdle around my new life anymore. Your voice brings back not-so-pleasant memories for me.

[...]

After the little banter, Aiden’s attention returned to Alisha.

"Unfortunately, I can’t get the plumbing running yet," he mumbled. "However, if you like, you can take a shower at my apartment. I even have some electronics for the little one to play with."

***

With the sound of a running shower and Lily’s kart game, Aiden felt strangely at peace. He had gotten so used to being alone that he almost forgot how it felt to enjoy some company.

While they are busy, let’s get rid of these system prompts.

[You have an unused skill point.]

"The sanctuary skill seems most useful, so let’s upgrade that first."

Aiden clicked on the prompt, and a list of all his skills appeared before him.

+++

Select a skill to upgrade:

[Maintenance (Lv. 1)] (+)

[Shop (Lv. 1)] (+)

[Management (Lv. 1)] (+)

Note: Click on the (+) icon to view upgrade effects.

+++

"The sanctuary skill isn’t mentioned here?"

[Class Exclusive skills evolve alongside the host’s class.]

"I can’t upgrade the sanctuary skill? Well, that sucks."

With his plan proving unfruitful, Aiden checked the respective upgrades.

The maintenance skill wasn’t anything special. It unlocked a crafting table to craft things as long as Aiden had enough materials and blueprints to make them.

Since he didn’t have either of those, he passed on upgrading the maintenance skill.

Next was the shop, and it was quite interesting to Aiden.

"Upgrading the skill would allow me to register my own items in the shop."

He looked around at the priceless things scattered around his apartment like branded shampoos, soaps, utensils, and various techs.

As long as he registered them in the shop, he could share them with everyone... for a price, of course.

As much as he wanted to upgrade the skill, he decided to check the management skill upgrade first.

"Interesting... upgrading the skill would show me a more detailed tenant info page. It would show their skill proficiencies to me as well. I could use that to assign work to maximize results."

The upgrade was good, but once again, he had to pass it. He only had two tenants at the moment and didn’t need the skill at this time. Unlike the shop that could be of use to him at that very moment.

[Upgrade Shop to level 2?]

"Yes."

[Skill upgraded!]

[You can register up to 10 items of your choice in the shop.]

"Nice."

Aiden was about to start picking up items to register when the shower doors opened, and Alisha walked out, wrapped in a towel.

Lord have mercy...