World Apocalypse: Apocalust

Chapter 42: Chapter XLII - Define Insult

Noah continued staring at the back door, his attention lingering on the appraisal he’d just dismissed. The information was still fresh in his mind, particularly the numbers. A seventy-point increase in durability for only ten AP seemed almost too good to be true.

Levy was the first to break the silence as usual.

"So... can we test it?"

Noah glanced at him.

"Test it how?"

Levy shrugged, looking at the door.

"I don’t know. Hit it with something?"

Sage folded her arms.

"That sounds like a great way to damage the thing he just spent on upgrading."

"Then don’t hit it hard."

"Then that defeats the purpose of testing it, Levy."

Levy opened his mouth, paused, then nodded reluctantly.

"Fair."

Noah couldn’t help but chuckle.

He looked back at the door, considering the suggestion. They could test its durability, but without knowing exactly how strong it had become, there was no reliable way to measure the difference. Breaking out a weapon and swinging at it seemed especially stupid when he had no idea whether the System’s upgrades could be repaired only with an upgrade or standalone.

He thought about upgrading the door again, only to find that the price had jumped. It was still within a reasonable range, but Noah couldn’t help wondering how quickly the cost would climb with each successive upgrade. Whatever he had to spend now might seem insignificant compared to what future upgrades could demand.

For the moment, though, he still had plenty of AP. The question was how long that would last.

He set the thought aside for the moment. There was something else he wanted to know.

"Since the upgrade worked on the door," Noah said, "I should probably upgrade some other things too."

Levy’s expression brightened.

"The windows?"

"The windows."

Sage looked toward the glass beside the door, then back at Noah.

"Would that cost more?"

"Maybe. Maybe not. We’d have to see."

Noah glanced at his status.

〔AP: 990〕

He had plenty—at least for now.

The thought made him pause.

For now.

A thousand AP sounded like a lot when he’d had zero. After spending only ten, however, he was already starting to realize how quickly those points could disappear if everything in the house required them.

Doors. Windows. Walls. Possibly functions.

Maybe even the entire property eventually.

His gaze drifted around the kitchen.

How far can this actually go?

The Domain had already shown him that its capabilities were far beyond what he’d initially expected. If he could reinforce the house piece by piece, then maybe they could turn it into something more than just a place to sleep.

Something secure. Something they could actually keep safe.

Noah looked toward the windows. "Let’s see what the windows can do."

He shifted his attention toward the window above the sink, focusing on it through the strange awareness of his Domain. A moment later, another prompt appeared before him.

Thankfully, the starting cost was the same.

〔Window〕

〔Upgrade Cost: 10 AP〕

Noah glanced at the display showing his remaining points.

Not bad.

But if every upgrade started at ten points, the costs would add up quickly. Especially when he started upgrading the other structures around the house.

He turned toward Levy and Sage.

"The windows cost ten AP too."

Levy nodded.

"Seems reasonable."

"For now," Noah replied.

Sage glanced between the windows and Noah.

"Upgrade them."

"That was the plan."

Noah selected Yes.

Just like before, the System deducted the required points.

〔AP: 980〕

A timer immediately appeared.

〔00:00:59〕

The three settled in to wait. This time, there was less uncertainty. They already knew what was coming, so the minute passed with considerably less anticipation than the first upgrade. Conversation picked back up while Noah kept track of the countdown.

Eventually, the final seconds arrived.

〔00:00:03〕

〔00:00:02〕

〔00:00:01〕

〔00:00:00〕

The timer vanished, and almost immediately, the same strange phenomenon as before occurred.

Black energy erupted across the windows. The dark film spread over the glass in a sudden wave, engulfing the panes and creeping along their frames until the entire window was shrouded beneath the unnatural energy. It rippled across the surface like a living shadow, pulsing once before gradually becoming still.

Noah, Levy, and Sage watched in silence. For several seconds, nothing happened.

Then the black film began to dissolve.

It peeled away from the glass in thin wisps, transforming into dark smoke that drifted upward before dispersing into the air. Within moments, the smoke had vanished completely.

Just like the door, the windows looked almost exactly as they had before.

Noah narrowed his eyes.

Guess I’ll have to appraise this too.

〔Reinforced Window〕

〔Quality: Common〕

〔Type: Structure〕

〔Material: Reinforced Glass〕

〔Condition: Good〕

〔Durability: 100/100〕

〔Security: Low〕

〔Description: A reinforced window capable of withstanding minor to moderate physical force.〕

He skimmed through the notification, his attention mainly settling on the final three lines. The window’s durability was lower than the door’s, but considering they were both reinforced, the difference wasn’t exactly surprising.

Noah dismissed the notification and turned toward the others.

"Looks like the upgrade worked on the window too."

Levy nodded, glancing over at the glass.

"Same deal?"

"Pretty much. It’s reinforced now, but the durability is lower than the door’s."

Sage gave a small nod of understanding.

"Makes sense. Even if they’re both reinforced, it’d still be easier to get through a window than a door."

Noah glanced back at the window.

"Yeah. A door’s got a lot more material to work with."

"Exactly," Sage replied. "The reinforcement makes the window harder to break, but it’s still a window."

Levy couldn’t resist.

He nudged Sage lightly in the side with his elbow, a grin spreading across his face.

"Aren’t you glad you came with us?" he asked. "Huh? Huh?"

Sage glanced sideways at him, catching the grin spread across his face. For a moment, she simply stared, as though debating whether answering him was even worth the effort. In the end, his amusement won out. A small smile tugged at the corner of her lips as she shook her head.

"You know, I liked you better when you were ’asleep’."

Levy’s grin faltered then came back. "I’ll take that as a compliment.

Noah snorted, unable to keep the amusement from slipping out.

Sage glanced toward him, then back at Levy. She opened her mouth, apparently ready to explain exactly how that was supposed to be an insult rather than a compliment, but the words seemed to get tangled somewhere along the way.

"Actually, never mind."

She gave up with a small shake of her head, the faint smile still lingering on her lips.

Levy’s grin widened.

"See? Compliment."

Sage rolled her eyes. "Whatever helps you sleep at night."

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