On Aron's command, Kaiser immediately walked out of the building entrance and headed toward him. The moment he stepped outside, he froze in awe, his mouth hanging open as he stared at the water suspended in the air.

Aron, on the other hand, had already finished killing every defenseless zombie within his sensing range. From start to finish, he didn't even lift a finger. Notifications kept popping up nonstop.

[200 exp used. Lvl +1]

[400 exp used. Lvl +1]

****

Host Info

Name: Aron

Level: 13

EXP: 60/800

Rank: Ascender

Lifespan: 182 years

Mana: ∞

Special Ability: Talent Bank

Talent Inspection: Check talent ability within 1 meter.

Talent Switch: On/Off.

Talent Socket: Able to keep ∞ abilities active at once.

Talent Vault (0/5): Rent stored talents to up to five beings. Each rental costs EXP or lifespan. Gains reduced by 50%.

Abilities (Active)

[Claimable Ability: Infinite Storage – 10 EXP]

Water Control – Control water at will. Mana cost varies.

Stealth – Become undetectable by normal means. Consumes 2 mana/sec.

FortiSphere – Impenetrable dome. Radius: 1 meter. Consumes 50 mana/sec.

Thunder Manipulation – Bend thunder at will. Mana scales with intensity and creativity.

Sense – Extend awareness up to one mile. Mana cost scales with distance.

Abilities (Passive)

Danger Sense – Instinctively detect threats.

Immunity – Immune to viruses and mortal diseases.

Abilities (Internal)

Burst – Sacrifice 80% strength to unleash instant power for 2 seconds. Leaves user weakened for 5 hours.

Death Speed – Increase speed twentyfold. Each second consumes one year of lifespan.

****

[10 EXP used. Infinite Storage claimed.]

[Talent Acquired: Infinite Storage (Active) – Store infinite non-living items. Consumes 5 mana/minute.]

The moment Aron claimed the talent, a vast new space opened in his mind. It had no walls, no ceiling, only a flat floor stretching endlessly. If not for that floor, he might have thought he was floating in some unknown corner of the universe.

Kaiser, already standing beside him, could only keep staring with a strange look on his face. How could anyone use power on this scale without running out of mana? Aron wasn't even showing signs of fatigue.

"You can start with the prepared meals," Aron said calmly.

Kaiser snapped out of his daze. "O-okay!"

Without hesitation, he began unloading the food he had hoarded in his storage space: pizza, stew, steaming noodles, perfectly seasoned roasted meat… all of it appeared neatly arranged on the dry ground Aron had cleared using Water Control.

Except the moment they appeared, they disappeared.

Kaiser froze. He reached for another portion of food, but again, the moment it left his storage, it vanished into thin air.

"Y-y-you...!" He turned to Aron in shock, his eyes wide as if staring at a monster. His words stumbled out, broken. "I… I-impossible! How can this be possible!? Y-you… how can you use space talent!?"

In disbelief, he slapped and pinched himself, trying to confirm he wasn't dreaming.

Aron gave him a look, as if staring at an idiot. "Who told you to stop?"

His voice was so cold that Kaiser flinched. Startled, he hurriedly continued releasing items. Yet the entire time, his mind was in complete disarray. Every glance at Aron's calm, impassive face only deepened his frustration.

Shock came first, Aron having multiple talents was something Kaiser knew to be impossible.

Before the network collapsed, he had spent most of his time online, even joining a private group chat of awakeners. There, valuable insights were shared, and one truth was universally accepted: no one could possess more than one talent. And no two talents could ever be identical, just like fingerprints, they were unique.

But here Aron was, casually using the same ability as him, and not just that, wielding it alongside terrifying power without even breaking a sweat.

Meanwhile, Kaiser's mana bar had already hit rock bottom after unloading just ten percent of his storage. He glanced at Aron again, bitterness rising in his chest. This rollercoaster of emotions was too much for one day.

"Why did you stop?" Aron asked, brow raised.

"…I'm out of mana." Kaiser lowered his head, voice meek and defeated.

"Oh." Aron remembered seeing the [Level 0] under Kaiser's status when he inspected him earlier. Not a single kill since the apocalypse began.

"Go back to your apartment. I'll return for the rest later."

"Plop!" Kaiser's knees hit the ground with a thud. "Please take me with you! I'll be your dog if I have to, I'll do anything, just accept me as your subordinate!"

At first, he had planned to use his storage ability as leverage to tag along. But now that Aron had the exact same ability, that bargaining chip was gone. Begging was all he had left.

"No."

Aron's cold voice cut through his plea without hesitation.

Kaiser froze. The decisiveness in that one word stunned him speechless.

"Go back to your apartment. I'll be back in a few hours for the rest of the supplies." Aron pulled a brand-new bike from Infinite Storage and prepared to leave.

"Please! I'll do anything! If you want my girl, she's yours! I won't complain... I swear!" Kaiser cried desperately.

Aron ignored him, starting the engine.

But before he could drive away...

"I regressed back in time."

The broken confession slipped from Kaiser's lips.

For the first time, Aron's expression shifted. His head turned toward Kaiser, surprise flashing in his eyes. He didn't doubt the claim. Judging by the sheer amount of cooked food and fuel Kaiser had stored, it would be impossible otherwise.

Kaiser's voice turned bitter, filled with self-mockery. "I died three days into the apocalypse. Not by zombies, but by my neighbors. I showed kindness, and they killed me for it.

Tore me apart piece by piece. As I lay dying, I awakened. My talent triggered, and by some miracle went back two weeks before the apocalypse began.

I prepared everything, reinforced my apartment… but even then, i have realized it still isn't enough. I lack strength."

Tears streamed down his cheeks.

"My mother gave birth to me in prison. She was serving life for killing her abusive husband.

I grew up alone, scraping for food, branded by her crime. No one would hire me.

Then, one day, I saved a big boss during an NGO program. Took a bullet for him. In return for saving his life, he gave me a cleaning job at a mall.

After years of endurance and insults, I was finally promoted to mall manager. I thought life had finally turned around…" His voice broke into a bitter laugh. "But a week later, the apocalypse began. Three days after, I was dead."

His eyes filled with pain as tears dripped freely.

"This isn't living. My life is so sad that even I feel sad for myself.

I don't want to keep living like this. If this is how it's going to be, I'd rather die now than rot slowly, day by day.

I'm human too. All I ever wanted was a simple, normal life. Is that really too much to ask?"

"Do you want power?"

Kaiser suddenly heard a cool voice, and slowly raised his head, meeting Aron's cold gaze who was now standing right in front of him. "…Yes."

"Are you willing to pay the price?"

"I..."

"Don't answer me thoughtlessly." Aron cut him off sharply, his tone a warning.

Kaiser clenched his fists, his voice trembling with desperation. "Boss, I'm a hard-working man. I'll do anything. Even if it means destroying this world to erase my weakness. Please… try me."

He clung to that last shred of hope with everything he had.

...

..

.

***

I'm actually kinda scared you guys might pull this mission off 😩.

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