"Yes, yes, you're so grateful and honorable," Ryuji muttered, too tired to argue anymore. He had finally figured it out.
This Gardevoir… she was just a pure mix of lustful and tsundere.
How should he put it?
Being tsundere could be really cute—if done right.
To truly embody the tsundere archetype, a girl had to possess several essential traits. First, she needed talent and capability to match her pride. Confidence had to come from real competence, not just good looks or some lofty social status.
Second, she had to have self-awareness—an understanding of her own limits and how to navigate relationships properly.
Third, a true tsundere was only two or three parts tsun; the remaining seven or eight parts had to be dere—soft and affectionate. Pride existed only before love bloomed. Once in a relationship, the sweetness should take over.
Only then could the tsundere truly be considered wholesome.
The sharp tongue? That was just part of the charm. After all, you judged someone not by their words, but by their actions. If she still treated you like a servant after falling in love, then that wasn't a tsundere—that was just a self-absorbed brat.
Perfect tsunderes were rare gems, though. And while Gardevoir clearly had tsundere vibes, Ryuji knew better than to assume he had her personality all figured out.
So this was the situation now.
"Hmph! Such a dismissive human. I'll remember this slight," Gardevoir huffed, folding her arms with a pout as she turned away.
He didn't argue. Honestly, he was more concerned about something else.
"How's the zombie horde looking?" he asked, standing up and heading toward the fortification entrance.
Still dense, still swarming with undead. No change there.
Stepping into the now-empty main hall, he retrieved some ingredients from his backpack and glanced over at Gardevoir.
"Can you eat meat?"
Gardevoir raised her head with haughty pride. "Of course."
"Good."
He whipped up a stew with the best of his limited seasoning. Gardevoir said nothing about the taste, but she ate diligently. Even the leftover scraps were scooped up—though only after she asked if he wanted them.
When he asked about it, she answered naturally, though still pridefully.
"Food is a precious thing. Even if I dislike humans, I won't waste it. Wasting food is shameful. That said… your cooking is atrocious."
Blunt as ever. Ryuji could only sigh.
After they ate, Ryuji sat cross-legged and began working on recovering with blood energy and life return techniques.
It wasn't easy. Using both at once barely increased the healing rate, but it burned through his stamina and focus twice as fast. Worse still, the dual activation disrupted his blood energy flow.
And this was despite his enhanced reflexes.
"Well, at least my reaction speed feels amazing," he muttered as he swung his arms around swiftly, marveling at the ease. It truly felt like he had returned to his peak.
Tricky techniques like halting blood flow mid-cycle—something he used to struggle with—were now natural. Even basic swordplay and hand-to-hand movements were easier to execute, his body adjusting quickly to angles and force, and even his visual processing had sped up.
"I think I get how those genius mid-laners in League of Legends feel. If I started grinding again… maybe I'd become the next prodigy."
Ryuji twirled his sword effortlessly in his palm, the polished movement forming a crisp flourish.
He knew then—he'd just saved himself years of training.
In the modern world, mastering a weapon to a decent level, even with good instruction and resources, took at least two or three years of dedicated practice. In the past, it took even longer, especially with poorer nutrition and outdated training methods.
But Ryuji? He had basically downloaded the fundamentals overnight.
Thanks to the Gremory swordsmanship, he could now accurately strike targets, anticipate opponents' moves, and enhance his weapon with magic to make it faster, stronger, and more durable.
Of course, the full style—which combined dozens of spells and techniques—was still beyond him. His current mana reserves couldn't support its true form.
But for now, this was more than enough.
Satisfied with his progress, Ryuji didn't bother testing the power Hermione had granted him, or experiment with outward magic projection. Nothing felt urgent enough.
Instead, he turned his eyes back to the sea of undead outside. He only meant to reflect on the harshness of this world—
Until something odd happened.
His 7 Days to Die interface flickered.
"Huh?"
He blinked. The character panel and health bar glitched… and vanished.
No pain, no dizziness. Just—gone.
"What the hell…?"
He tapped the system again. The entire quest log had disappeared too—everything he had earned since arriving.
But just as quickly as it had disappeared, the system returned to normal.
Nothing seemed different. Yet he knew—
Something was coming.
This world was dying.
And this was only the beginning.
~~~~~~~
Bonus chapter every 200 PS.