Leveling Up Wives In The Apocalypse

"Didn't you say that this might turn more complicated than you initially expected?" Nadia asked, leaning her head to the side to showcase the doubt behind her words.

"We won't know it until we check the merchant in the office," Mathew countered. "And trust me, nothing would make me happier than everything going smoothly right now," Mathew countered.

He then took another deep breath before bravely pushing his body forward.

At first, keeping his stability proved to be a challenge Mathew couldn't really face. Yet, as he pushed himself further and further, his body finally managed to adapt to Mathew's current level of exhaustion, allowing him to keep his posture straight.

"I can't say that I'm convinced," Nadia informed while bringing her hands up to support Mathew from the side. She let go only after making sure that Mathew could actually hold his own. "What if it won't work?" she then asked. "What if you still won't be able to establish that fortress?"

Mathew only smiled before pushing Nadia's hands away and patting her shoulder.

"And why do you think I asked the girls on the top floor to wait for the sound of clapping?"

"Ah!" Nadia released a small, shocked moan. "So that's what you meant back then!"

Her eyes widened up a little, only for the girl to then shake her head.

"I know the two of them are bound to be tired as well," Mathew brought up the point that he felt Nadia was about to speak about. "But if my worries are on point, then we will compensate for our exhaustion with our numbers," Mathew explained, only to send his arms towards the girl when his knees trembled.

"I don't really see you contributing anything if a fight were to actually happen," Nadia commented despite eagerly offering Mathew her shoulder.

"You might actually be right," Mathew admitted, unable to avoid resting a part of his weight on the girl.

The young man managed to force himself to keep going for now, but that didn't mean his exhaustion went away. And even though they were out of the vertical shaft now, each step that Mathew took made his body scream out in the pain of burning muscles.

'But there is still one more thing that I can do to make such fight easier for you, guys,' Mathew thought as he called forth and took a glance at a single, particular line of his system.

[Accumulated Levels - 11/14]

This single line was significant not because of what it portrayed but because of the meaning hidden behind this number.

'In other words, I can still give away three more levels,' Mathew thought, only to fight off his desire to do so right away.

The times when he was desperate to raise the strength of his group were now over. With no evolved monsters left on the school grounds and the zombies themselves no longer posing any significant threat, Mathew saw no point in rushing to use those levels.

But now, the situation has potentially changed.

'It all rides on whether I will be able to set this fortress up or not,' he thought, gritting his teeth when the hard part of his ongoing journey started.

"The stairs..." Mathew whispered silently.

"Huh?" Nadia turned her head around, stopping right before taking the first step down. "Did you say something?" she asked, glancing over at her partner's face.

Mathew shook his head sideways, unwilling to waste his energy on spouting pointless words.

'If I can get the message through with just a shake of my head, there is no point to speak, is there?' he thought, pursing his lips and preparing for the hell that was ahead of him.

Nadia turned her eyes back to the front as soon as she registered Mathew's reply. And without any further hesitation, she started to descend the stairs while still helping Mathew to move down with her.

'I'm nothing but a burden right now,' Mathew thought, feeling his soul stifling with the guilt that the situation caused him to experience.

'Wasn't I supposed to be her strength? If so, how can I accept the current state of things?'

Mathew continued to bombard his consciousness with the dark thoughts while Nadia continued her fight to help him all the way to the ground floor.

"We are almost there," she uttered her first words when they finally reached the bottom of the compound. "Just hand on for a little longer," she added, moving Mathew's arm so that it would lock over her shoulders.

"You are not the one to speak like that," Mathew whispered softly, perfectly aware of all the sweat that the girl shed. He could see the fat drops appearing on her forehead only to then trickle down her face and then her cheeks. It would then hang down on her chin before finally dropping to the ground, marking their path with small drops of water.

"Just shut it," Nadia replied.

'It didn't take long for her to adopt my mindset regarding speaking,' Mathew thought when he noticed the change.

Yet, due to Nadia's constant effort, the young man didn't have much time to contemplate her behavior. Right as he was about to pass out from both his exhaustion and all the efforts he expended to carry himself down, Nadia finally took a stop and helped to prompt him up.

"Look," she said as a wide smile brightened up her face. "We are here," she added, only to falter on her legs and use her hands to support herself against the nearby wall.

"Good," Mathew nodded his head only to then raise his hand and pat Nadia's shoulder. "Thanks for helping me up here," he said, only to then waste the tiny bit of energy he had left to shake his head. "No, I shouldn't thank you for helping me," Mathew suddenly announced.

"Huh?" Nadia shook a little. The curiosity in her eyes then mixed with a slight disappointment.

"I should thank you for practically carrying me here," Mathew fixed his praise. He then offered the girl one last smile before pushing himself against the wall of the office and then sliding on it towards the entrance.

Reaching the merchant turned out to be a surprisingly easy task. The time that Nadia spent reaching past her limits to bring him down allowed Mathew to actually rest a little.

And so he reached out and grasped at the merchant's darkness...

Mathew returned back to reality in what appeared like an instant.

Yet, Nadia could tell how everything went with just a single look on his face.

"We need to get back to the shaft," Mathew announced as he stumbled on his legs only to fall towards the wall. He then raised his eyes at the girl. "It seems that I still need to regain control over the one merchant we left."