World Apocalypse: Apocalust

Chapter 43: Chapter XLIII - Dangerous Territory

Noah eventually made his way back to the kitchen table and dropped into a chair with a quiet huff, the brief excitement of the upgrades giving way to a growing curiosity.

He leaned back against the wooden support, glancing around the kitchen before his eyes settled on the back door and the windows surrounding it.

"How much would it cost to upgrade all the windows?" he muttered aloud.

Sage, who was still standing nearby, heard him.

"That’s a good question."

Noah looked toward her.

"And one with an answer only you would probably know," she added, gesturing vaguely around the house. "It’s your house, after all."

Noah smiled wryly.

If only it were that simple.

He knew the house better than either of them, sure. He’d been living there since he graduated junior high, which was longer than three years ago. But when it came down to the small details like that, he was almost as much in the dark as they were.

Until he remembered Domain.

One of its effects was complete perception of the space within its boundaries. Noah had already experienced it firsthand; the strange sensation let him perceive things without actually seeing them.

He reached for the ability, allowing that familiar awareness to spread through the house once more. Rather than examining everything, he focused specifically on the fragile exterior openings, mentally keeping track as his perception moved through the property.

It didn’t take long for the tally, but before he could get the number off, the System seemed to pluck the question straight from the air and provide him with an answer through a violet notification.

〔Exterior Window Upgrades〕

〔Remaining Upgrades: 24〕

〔Total Cost: 240 AP〕

〔Would you like to commence the upgrade?〕

〔Yes〕〔No〕

Noah stared at the numbers for a moment. There were twenty-five windows, but considering he’d just finished upgrading one of them, that left twenty-four still waiting.

Two hundred and forty AP.

It wasn’t an unreasonable price—not with the amount of AP he currently had—but it was enough to make Noah revisit just how quickly his points could disappear.

At least now he had an answer. The real question was whether upgrading them all was actually worth it.

Noah was quiet for only a second before confirming the option. Who was he kidding? Of course it was. Stronger security meant a safer house. A safer house meant better sleep. And better sleep meant peace of mind—or, at the very least, a lower chance of losing their shits.

Yeah. Definitely worth it.

Noah unhesitatingly selected Yes after his solo confirmation.

He pulled up his second Status screen, specifically checking his remaining AP. As expected, the amount had dropped considerably, falling by two hundred and forty points, leaving him with 740 AP.

Noah sighed.

Figures.

The cost wasn’t unreasonable, especially considering he had just spent to upgrade every exterior window in the house, but seeing that much AP disappear in a single transaction still stung.

His attention soon shifted to the doors.

If he was already reinforcing the windows, it only made sense to consider the other major entry points as well.

Noah let his awareness expand once more, slipping into that strange state of omniscience as the house unfolded within his perception. This time, he narrowed his focus to every door that led outside, mentally tracing their positions and keeping count as he moved through the property.

Was it needed? No. He knew just how many there were, but he figured there was no harm in double-checking.

And as expected, there were five in total, including the back door he’d already upgraded.

The front entrance was the obvious one, followed by the back door, while the pair of garage doors accounted for two more.

The last was the balcony entrance in the attic, which let anyone peer over the neighborhood through an enclosed opening framed by two windows.

Five doors.

One was already reinforced, leaving four more that needed to be upgraded.

He pulled up the upgrade screen.

〔Exterior Door Upgrades〕

〔Remaining Upgrades: 4〕

〔Total Cost: 40 AP〕

〔Would you like to commence the upgrade?〕

〔Yes〕〔No〕

Noah stared at the number for a moment, then glanced at his current AP.

〔AP: 740〕

There goes a small chunk.

Still, it wasn’t enough to make him hesitate. If the windows were worth reinforcing, the doors were arguably even more important. Unlike windows, which could shatter and draw attention, these were the actual points people would try to use to enter the house.

Noah selected Yes.

The number on his Status immediately dropped to 700.

He exhaled slowly through his nose.

"Down to seven hundred," he muttered.

Levy glanced over. "That’s still a lot."

"Yeah," Noah replied. "I know. Still hurts to see it go, though."

Levy walked over to the refrigerator and pulled it open.

"Money comes and goes. You know? You just have to accept it, move on, and make more."

"Hopefully it’s that easy," Noah muttered.

His gaze settled on Sage as she approached steadily, stopping just a few steps away.

"So, you ended up upgrading all the windows and doors?"

Noah nodded.

"All the ones that lead outside, yeah."

"Cool."

She leaned against the edge of the table, folding her arms loosely as she looked around the kitchen. She pursed her lips and made a faint sound in her mouth.

"What now?"

Noah paused.

Right.

There was one fairly important detail he’d completely forgotten.

As his thoughts shifted away from the Domain, the strange awareness surrounding him gradually receded, pulling back until the house became nothing but a kitchen again.

At the same time, the unnatural darkness faded from his eyes, the black sclera returning to their normal whites as his silver irises shifted back to their familiar amber.

Noah blinked once, allowing himself a moment to adjust before looking back at Sage.

"Right. Forgot to tell you where you’ll be staying. You’ll need somewhere to sleep."

Her gaze wandered toward the hallway before moving upward, as though considering the layout of the house.

"What rooms are you two staying in?"

"Mine’s upstairs," Noah said. "Levy’s up there too."

Sage nodded, then seemed to remember something.

"Wait."

She turned her attention toward the ceiling.

"You have an attic, right? I think I saw a balcony on the way inside."

Noah nodded. It was one of the places he spent most of his time when he wasn’t training. Among other things, he enjoyed watching the sunset slip behind the trees lining the surrounding neighborhood.

"Yeah, why?"

"Is there a room up there?"

"Yes, no. Kind of."

Sage’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully.

"Well, I think I saw a balcony earlier... Is it connected to that?"

"Yeah. There’s a door that leads out to it."

She considered that for another moment before looking back at Noah.

"Can I stay up there?"

Noah blinked.

"The attic?"

"Yeah. I don’t care if there’s a bed or not. I can make do without one."

He shrugged.

"Sure. If that’s what you want. And don’t worry, there’s a bed; my mom made sure of that."

The refrigerator door swung shut behind them. Just as Sage opened her mouth to ask about her whereabouts, Levy quickly raised a hand and gestured toward his throat, silently signaling for her to keep quiet ’sensitive topic’—if he could speak through telepathy.

Sage caught the gesture and immediately understood what he meant.

"I’ll take it."

Noah gave her a small nod before glancing back toward Levy, who was grinning like a fool. He shook his head, focusing back on Sage.

"Alright. Attic it is."

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