Apocalypse with my SSS Harem Beauties-Chapter 85: Weapons

The realization struck them all at once, tightening their faces into confusion and disbelief. None of them had ever spoken the thought aloud but each had silently believed they were the first to enter this place.

They had come through the Ether Rift inside the ruined subway station. That area was so deep in the danger zone that no one sane would have ever gone near it.

But now they knew they were wrong. A group had come before them. Another group had crossed over and survived all of this.

Myles clenched his jaw, a cold anxious feeling pressing behind his ribs. "Another group that was strong enough to defeat the same guardians we just barely survived."

The thought ran through his head like static.

The others wore the same expression. Ethan frowned deeply, Ryan’s hand twitched, and Daniel muttered a curse under his breath.

Only Nadine who was still injured and Clara who tended to her, stayed silent at the back. George sat near them with his body also still weak and trembling, his eyes flicking between the others and the creature.

Myles exhaled slowly and forced himself to focus and calmed his mind. "It doesn’t matter. If they came before us that could just mean they were lucky to survive. We’ll deal with it when the time comes and they are actually hostile to us."

He lifted his gaze and spoke firmly, "Thanks for the information. How many were in that group?"

The undertaker tilted his head. "Four," he said calmly.

"Four?" Myles repeated, his brows furrowing.

Around him, the others exchanged uneasy glances. If ten of them had nearly died fighting the three guardians, then four managing to clear the same ordeal sounded almost impossible.

The undertaker chuckled softly, the sound echoing like a whisper in the fog.

"Why do you look so shocked and afraid?" he asked, there was a trace of amusement in his voice and even though his face was just shadows, Myles could almost tell his expression was amused as well. The lanterns swayed as though in rhythm with his laugh. "Are you disappointed that you weren’t the first? That another group might be stronger than you?"

Myles stayed silent. He didn’t need to answer. The undertaker could already sense the truth in their hearts.

"Don’t worry," the undertaker continued, his tone turning smooth again. "I adjust my trials based on the strength of each group."

Myles felt a small flicker of relief. He didn’t show it, but it made his grip on the Fangblade steadier.

"You mean they didn’t face the same guardians?" Victor asked, his voice rough from exhaustion.

"Oh, they faced the same guardians," the undertaker said, lifting one lantern slightly. The blue light shimmered across his tattered robes. "But not the same strength. The ones you fought were far stronger of course."

Victor exhaled in half relief, half unsettled. Myles noticed it too—the faint satisfaction in the undertaker’s tone as if the creature was proud of testing them harder.

The blue flames in the lanterns pulsed again, illuminating the cracked battlefield filled with bones and lingering mist.

Myles got a realization, the undertaker wasn’t just testing them. He also had the ability to study them and saw into their stats.

That thought unsettled him.

Myles looked up at the undertaker, still managed to keep his expression steady. "So what now? We’ve finished your trial. Are you going to let us go?"

The undertaker turned slowly, the two lanterns at his sides swaying. The faint blue flames within them pulsed brighter.

"Let you go?" he repeated, voice curling through the mist. "Of course. You have endured the trial, and none may stay here longer than they must."

He raised one hand, the motion slow and deliberate. "And those who pass shall receive their due reward."

The flames in his lanterns flared violently, growing from soft blue into deep azure. The light burned larger and larger until it painted the mist itself with color.

"Your reward," the undertaker intoned, "is the armament of those who endure this despair."

The light fractured into countless dark blue orbs that drifted outward in a graceful spiral. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

They hovered above Myles, Victor, Daniel, Ethan, Ryan, Kade, Sam, and finally over Nadine, Clara, and George at the back.

One by one, the orbs reshaped.

When the light faded, there were weapons floating before their new owners.

The undertaker lowered his lanterns, the glow fading back to its usual calm flicker.

"Take them," he said, his tone a mixture of command and satisfaction. "You’ve earned these through. May they serve you well in the paths that still await."

The ten survivors grabbed their new weapons with astonished looks.

Myles reached out first. His new weapon was a curved blade with a faint dark sheen. It looked like a dagger but heavier.

Victor grasped the weapon in front of him which was a thick jagged cudgel that looked carved from dark stone and wrapped in spectral metal.

Daniel caught his pair of weapons next. It was a twin dagger that gleamed faintly blue, their shape thin.

Ethan’s reward materialized into sleek twin pistols with faint golden lines running along the barrels.

Ryan’s weapon hovered like a spear made of crystal and light. When he grabbed it, the shaft was cool and smooth under his hand.

Kade took hold of a pair of black gauntlets, their surface glowing with faint red embers.

Sam got a new bow that looked elegant and dark, the string glowing faint silver when he brushed it.

Nadine grabbed a quarterstaff with her trembling hands. A pale-blue light flared at its tip, wrapping her in soft warmth.

Clara has a short spear, its length coated in faint frost.

George got a hammer, it dropped heavily before him and etched with glowing sigils. He grabbed the handle and tried to lift it but it was pretty heavy.

For a moment, no one spoke. The battlefield was quiet.

Myles looked down at his new dagger again. Even those who already have new weapons now have another one. This is a very nice reward, considering a magical weapon was very rare.

—