[Target: Shari (beautiful human female… human?)]
[Romance Potential: -100 (Your chances of getting together with her are lower than the sun rising from the west tomorrow)]
For the first time, the Eye of Romance Detection scanned a human.
‘As expected, this damn system is still somewhat useful. The results are pretty accurate, too.’
Lin Ran complained inwardly, then pulled out the fruit knife hidden in his pants pocket.
“Lin… Lin Ran, why are you drawing a knife…?”
The moment Shari saw the fruit knife, terror flashed across her face.
She looked at Lin Ran with pitiful eyes, her gaze turning red as tears began to fall.
“Is it because I just killed your slime? I’m sorry… I really know I was wrong… Please, don’t do anything to me, I beg you.”
“Zhang Wei wasn’t killed by me… Yes… it was the slime, the slime killed him. That’s why I hate them so much, but now I know, they’re your companions, right?”
“Don’t kill me… don’t kill me…”
Her pleading cry sounded more genuine than any actress’s performance.
Even Lin Ran couldn’t tell if she was truly crying.
That face, lightly made up, was smudged by tears, adding a fragile beauty to her appearance.
No wonder she was chosen as campus belle for two consecutive years—her face had a fatal attraction to any man.
Lin Ran felt a twist of pain in his chest at the sight, his killing intent forcibly weakened again.
Unfortunately, he knew she was a succubus.
This was just a special ability of a succubus.
Unfortunately, he still hadn’t forgotten the miserable state of the slime and Zhang Wei’s death.
Even more unfortunately, he saw Shari’s hand behind her back, clutching a fruit knife.
‘If a slime could stab a bloody hole in someone’s neck, I’d really like to see it with my own eyes.’
Lin Ran rubbed his temples, forcing himself to calm down, reducing the charm’s effect.
He raised the fruit knife again, preparing to fight.
Seeing that playing the victim didn’t work, Shari sighed helplessly.
“So boring. Can’t you at least pretend to be dumb, senpai? I’m so good-looking—can’t you have a bit of pity?”
“Hmph!!”
She spoke casually, then revealed the fruit knife hidden behind her as well.
On one side was a 1.85-meter-tall adult male, strengthened by the system, with a bit of muscle.
On the other, a delicate girl of 1.58 meters with thin arms and legs.
Both held fruit knives, but their power levels didn’t seem to be on the same tier at all.
But——
“Whoosh!”
A sound slicing through the air rang out.
Lin Ran barely saw her movement—he only sensed darkness beneath him before realizing she was already in front of him.
“So fast!!!”
Is this the physical strength of a succubus?!
He instinctively stepped back, but couldn’t dodge in time; a cut appeared on his face.
He immediately counterattacked with a heavy kick.
Shari retreated half a step, landing lightly, not taking a direct hit.
Seeing Lin Ran’s ability to fight back, Shari looked at him with amused interest.
“Senpai, you could rely on me a little more, you know. Even I didn’t realize how strong I was. Zhang Wei was killed in just two or three moves.”
“That guy… I don’t know why, when the slime appeared, he didn’t even look at it. He just chased after me like a horny monkey. I had no choice but to kill him. Never seen such a hopeless man.”
“Senpai is really amazing~”
She dragged out her words, holding the fruit knife, her gaze toward Lin Ran almost melting.
Saying she liked him—Lin Ran could almost believe it.
At least, the kind of ‘like’ that makes you look for a fallback when picking a scapegoat.
No matter what, he’d never keep a woman like this by his side.
Whether it was harming the slime, killing Zhang Wei, or her uncontrollable abilities, everything screamed danger.
Plus that terrible personality—Lin Ran could never accept her.
Seeing the meaning in his eyes, Shari sighed helplessly again.
“Sigh——as expected, senpai still won’t accept me. It was the same when I was chasing you before.”
“Senpai is so smart, and way stronger than that dead otaku. Even the slimes—I don’t know why, but you’ve tamed them all.”
“If senpai won’t accept me, you’ll definitely be a huge hidden threat in the future——”
Shari’s eyes turned sharp as she looked at Lin Ran.
“Then I’ll just have to… get rid of senpai first, to eliminate any future trouble.”
Before her words even faded, her body shot forward like an arrow.
But this time, Lin Ran was ready!
His own physical strength, plus an extra 10% from the system, allowed him to react in time to this strike!
He leaned left to dodge, then swung a punch, hitting Shari’s shoulder directly.
With the added force, Lin Ran knocked her onto the bathroom sink.
Of course, for a succubus, this little damage was nothing.
Her abrasions healed quickly, and she simply snapped her broken finger back into place.
“Senpai, you hurt me~”
Shari propped herself up on the sink, speaking in a spoiled tone.
Clearly, she wanted to show she still had plenty of strength left.
But Lin Ran only felt goosebumps all over—deeply disgusted.
He also estimated that there was no way he could win a one-on-one against a succubus.
However——
He wasn’t alone.
He’d aimed for the sink on purpose—Lin Ran had his own reasons.
Just as Shari slowly stood up, stretched lazily, and readied herself to attack—
“Lim, do as I say!”
Lin Ran shouted.
Shari immediately became alert, glancing left and right, unsure where a slime might appear.
She was afraid.
Not of the slime’s combat power—as shown by how Zhang Wei died without a sound and the scream that followed.
She was afraid of slimes the way some people fear caterpillars, spiders, or cockroaches.
The apocalypse had just begun a few hours ago. An ordinary girl couldn’t possibly overcome her instincts and fight a slime.
That’s why she screamed before.
That’s why she now looked so terrified.
But after a while, the surroundings remained silent.
She saw no sign of any slime.
“When I came in, there were so many! Where did they all go!”
Shari shouted anxiously.
She was confident against humans—she knew how strong she was now.
But those disgusting, wriggling, sticky, wet things—she didn’t even want to touch them!!
That’s why her attacks had only been probing so far.
She worried the slimes might suddenly appear from somewhere.
“Glurp——”
A sound like a bubble rising from water.
Following the sound, Shari looked up in terror.
Dozens… no, hundreds of slimes were crawling out from the ceiling cracks!
The moment Shari noticed them, they were already falling like rain.
“Puchi!”
“Puchi!”
Slimes landed one after another.
Some went to open the faucet, some clung to Shari, and more simply slammed into her, trying to inflict any bit of damage.
But the most crucial was Lim.
While Shari was tangled up by countless slimes, her vision blocked and limbs flailing in panic—
Lim rushed to the fruit knife and wrapped her entire body around it.
Then, inside her, she produced a highly corrosive digestive fluid——
Sssss——
Bubbles erupted in great quantities.
By the time Shari felt the knife lighten in her hand and looked down, only the handle was left.
“You damned water ball! What did you do!”
“Disgusting! So disgusting! Get away from me!”
Now knife-less and covered in slime, the nausea made her nearly forget Lin Ran existed.
She could only stomp, punch, and even sit down on the slimes.
If these were ordinary slimes, like the flower-picking one, defenseless, she might have killed many.
But——
This was a slime tribe commanded by Lim, organized and disciplined, fighting in a water-filled environment!
Against attacks, they’d go limp, shrink, or dodge on their own.
Without a fruit knife to pierce the surface, Shari’s body was bound by slime mucus, her punches weak and ineffective.
Even if she crushed them, water and more mucus would replenish the damage—not fatal at all.
She was completely countered.
At this rate, death was only a matter of time.
“Being corroded to death by slimes is pretty painful. For the sake of our prior acquaintance, I’ll give you a release.”
Her skin was being dissolved, and the sensation of mucus made her retch repeatedly.
Lin Ran’s arrival sparked a sliver of hope in her eyes.
“Lin Ran, save me!”
“What do you want—my combat strength? My apology? My body?”
“I can do anything for you! I won’t—”
Before she could finish, a fruit knife pierced her throat.
Just as she’d killed Zhang Wei.
Blood flowed, her body growing cold with death.
It was over.
Facing the corpse, Lim once again extended a mimicry tentacle, asking the same question——
“Can I eat this?”
But this time, Lin Ran didn’t refuse.
He was pretty tired—the dorm had been fully explored, and he was planning to head back.
Just then, the system notification sounded.
[Ding! When husband and wife work together, they can cut through metal! You and Lim collaborated to solve a big problem!]
[System tip: Relying on each other in romance also increases favorability~]
[Favorability +5! Current favorability: 75 (Like)]
[Gained Love Saint level EXP*50!]
[Favorability reached 75, strategy mission issued——‘Reliable Partner’]
[A pair of reliable partners must support each other and grow stronger together]
[Mission objective: Favorability reaches 95, and Lim’s physical stats reach 70% of the host’s (current 20%)]
[Mission reward: Unlock Profession]
Profession?!
Lin Ran, who’d felt exhausted just now, suddenly perked up at this word.
Fatigue was instantly swept away by excitement, as if nothing had happened.
It couldn’t be helped—after all, as a veteran reader and gamer, he understood and loved this stuff.
Warrior, mage, summoner, assassin, necromancer, and so on, right!
This is what an apocalypse should have!
No way the system would assign him a ‘Deliveryman,’ ‘Clerk,’ or ‘Salesperson’ profession now, right?
That… shouldn’t be possible, right…?
And at this rate, reaching 95 favorability was just a matter of time.
The only problem was Lim’s strength.
Lin Ran cupped his chin in thought.
She was just a slime—even if she could level up and evolve, getting her physical stats to 70% of his own would take a long time.
By the time he obtained the profession, some monster might’ve already torn him apart, returning him to nature’s cycle.
Also, this stupid system—judging strength based on physical stats?
That’s a hardcore standard.
Is the system a muscle maniac?
Doesn’t it give any chance to soft and cute weakling characters?
As he complained, the system notification sounded again.
[Ding——Congratulations, host. Lim’s physical stats have reached 70% of yours. Mission progress 1/2]
[Please complete the favorability mission soon to receive your reward~]
What?
Lin Ran’s brain froze for a moment.
Wasn’t it just 20% a second ago?
Not even a minute passed—how did it reach 70%?
Wait, did I complete the mission just by complaining?
Is the system’s true form the ‘Ultimate Tsukkomi System: I Get Stronger by Complaining’?
Lin Ran instinctively looked at Lim.
That’s when he noticed something odd.
After he stabbed that knife, Lim was stained red with Shari’s blood.
But now, the red was fading at a visible speed.
No, not fading.
Being absorbed, digested!
In some stories or games, slimes seem to have a special ability… mimic transformation.
And the trigger for transformation is usually devouring a corresponding lifeform.
‘Could it be that because she ate Shari, the slimes are really going to transform…?’
‘Hmm… Should I say ‘Hurry up and transform!’ here…?’
As the thought arose, reality provided the answer.
Lim’s jelly-like body began to surge, no longer maintaining its stable sphere.
Her outline stretched, lengthened, as if invisible hands were kneading clay into shape.
Gradually, a blurry, small human silhouette slowly formed.
…