Investing in My Harem in the Apocalypse Makes Me Stronger

Even though there were billions of humans spread across the planet and they were the lucky ones who had awakened strong talents, Cain was sure that they wouldn’t be able to advance to 2nd Echelon this fast without a huge event like the invasion door and its double experience and rewards.

Cain suddenly remembered something else.

His gaze shifted toward Elara.

"How much stronger did you get after advancing?"

Elara raised an eyebrow as she looked at him.

"What part?"

"Stats."

Cain deliberately asked her instead of Ron.

He could already imagine what would happen if he asked that shameless bastard.

Ron would probably spend the next five minutes explaining exactly how incredible he had become.

Elara thought briefly.

"They were multiplied by three times."

"Three times?" Cain’s eyes lit up.

"Yeah."

Elara opened her status to confirm it.

"My base Stats became three times what they were before the advancement."

Cain became quiet.

The result was much better than he had expected.

When they first entered the 1st Echelon, their stats had doubled.

At the time, even a twofold increase had felt enormous.

A threefold multiplier did not sound drastically different when stated casually.

The difference became absurd once the multiplication happened repeatedly.

If someone received a two-times multiplier through three advancements, the original value would become 8 times larger.

Three consecutive multiplications by three would produce 27 times the original value.

That was without considering the stats gained from Levels between those advancements.

Cain’s expression gradually became more serious.

"So that’s why the Core Stage matters this much."

Elara glanced toward him.

"You already knew it mattered."

"I knew. I just didn’t know the difference would be this ridiculous."

Cain had understood that a Perfected foundation produced greater reinforcement.

Knowing the actual multiplier changed his perspective.

A small advantage during one advancement could become a massive difference several Echelons later.

Ron moved slightly closer after hearing them.

Cain immediately raised one finger without turning around.

"Don’t."

Ron frowned.

"I didn’t even say anything."

"And let’s keep it that way."

"You asked her about something I also experienced."

"Exactly."

Ron clicked his tongue in disappointment, while cursing Cain in his heart.

Elara covered a small smile.

Cain continued forward.

He did not know what multiplier someone would receive after advancing with a Tempered or Flawless Mana Core.

He was not particularly interested in testing it either.

As long as resources remained available, nobody important to him was accepting an Advancement Mission before reaching Perfected.

Another announcement appeared.

The ranking continued climbing.

By the time they had crossed several kilometers, more than twenty people had entered the 2nd Echelon.

Most appeared to be advancing outside the Corridor.

Cain found that increasingly interesting.

There were clearly people in the outside world progressing through methods completely different from his group.

Though, he didn’t know what kind of encounter or what happened with the outside world and couldn’t be careless with it as his situation wasn’t that relaxed enough to think about such things.

The terrain ahead gradually rose.

Nathan slowed slightly.

"We’re close."

Cain took out the captured map and compared the nearby formations with the markings.

The second-largest outpost along the route toward the Southern Anchor Gate should be beyond the elevated ridge ahead.

Unlike the smaller positions they had destroyed, this one sat close enough to the Anchor Gate to function as an important defensive point.

Cain returned the map to his Inventory.

"Everyone listen."

The group tightened its formation without stopping.

Cain continued.

"The moment they’re within range, engage. Kill or disable them as quickly as possible."

His gaze moved toward Nathan and Sonya.

At the same time, a golden screen appeared again.

[World Announcement.]

[The twenty-seventh player to successfully advance to the 2nd Echelon has appeared.]

Cain raised an eyebrow as he looked at the notification.

27 people had advanced to the 2nd Echelons.

Cain actually did not care about the ranking itself, but the speed at which the list was filling was what mattered as it just made him curious more and more about the situation in the outside world.

"Let’s go!"

They immediately accelerated.

The ridge ahead passed beneath their feet, then the outpost came into view.

Cain’s expression immediately changed.

"They know of our arrival."

The Zombie Race had already gathered outside.

A broad defensive wall stretched across the lower terrain, but the enemy had not remained behind it.

Thirty 1st Echelon soldiers stood outside in formation.

Their weapons were already drawn.

At the front were four figures whose Mana pressure clearly surpassed the others.

2nd Echelon.

Cain’s golden eyes swept across them.

One of the four was holding a familiar rectangular device near its mouth.

Its lips were moving rapidly.

The zombie noticed Cain’s group appearing on the ridge and immediately shouted something into the device.

Cain raised an eyebrow.

"So much for surprising them."

The Zombie Race was already sending another warning.

That confirmed what he had suspected.

News of the previous attacks had reached the surrounding positions.

The longer they remained inside the Corridor, the more organized the resistance would become.

Cain unsheathed his sword, dark-gray Ruin energy gathered along the blade.

"Ron."

Lightning moved around Ron immediately.

"Yeah?"

"Take one of them."

Ron looked toward the four 2nd Echelon soldiers.

"Which one?"

Cain pointed toward the enemy on the far left.

"That one."

Ron grinned and lowered his spear.

Cain’s gaze shifted toward the remaining three.

"I’ll handle the others."

The Zombie Race formation started moving.

Nathan raised his bow.

Sonya’s first manifested Sun appeared above her, filling the surrounding area with crimson-gold light.

Alex removed the greatsword from his shoulder and held it properly.

Cain’s pupils became brighter.

"Go!"

Lightning exploded beside him as Ron instantly disappeared.

The battle began.

The Zombie Race soldiers charged the moment Ron moved.

Their formation was far more organized than the enemies Cain’s group had encountered at the previous outposts.

The 1st Echelon soldiers immediately spread outward, attempting to prevent Cain’s group from concentrating on their stronger commanders.

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