Void Reaper: The Essence Apocalypse-Chapter 34: Nooo! I died!!

— Red face, dilated pupils, clenched lips...— Valeria murmured with feigned seriousness, her eyes never leaving the flickering screen of the console. — You look like you’re about to explode. I guess it was worth spending a few hours scavenging through ruins to find the perfect size. I really put effort into it. Just for you.

Adam felt his throat tighten under the pressure of swirling thoughts. He swallowed hard, as if that could chase away the growing discomfort, and cleared his throat lightly.

— Where did you even... get that outfit? And the console? — he finally managed to ask, furrowing his brows and instinctively letting his gaze slide down her perfectly fitted swimsuit.

Valeria nodded, as if only now realizing what he’d asked.

— It’s called a handheld console, right? — she asked with a smirk, then returned to her game. — I spotted it in the hands of a girl at one of the stores. She was playing, completely ignoring her surroundings. A few minutes later, a zombie ate her. And since it was ownerless by then...— she shrugged. — I simply claimed it. The swimsuit had a similar story.

Adam’s brow furrowed even deeper.

— You watched someone die?

Valeria gave a sweet nod and kept playing, but seeing his expression, she looked up and added calmly:

— I told you before, didn’t I? I can’t interfere with your world. I can’t save people or change the course of events. The only thing I can do here is "observe" and play by the system’s rules.

Suddenly, she leapt from the bed with a feline grace. The swimsuit clung to her body like a second skin, and as her feet touched the floor, for a brief moment she seemed to shimmer in the room’s dim light. She walked slowly across the room, her hips swaying with natural allure, as if she was teasing him without even realizing it.

She stopped just in front of him, leaned in slightly, and her fingers gently brushed his chin. She slowly lifted it so their eyes could meet. Her gaze sparkled playfully, but beneath the surface lurked something deeper—an unsettling understanding.

— Maybe for you, a human’s death is a tragedy. For me... it’s like the death of an insect. I don’t feel the difference. A person I don’t know, who means nothing to me... whether they live or die, it doesn’t leave an impression.

Adam nodded, as if trying to accept her perspective, but his eyes betrayed hesitation. Something inside him was torn—understanding the logic, and a human instinct that screamed in defiance. He clenched his jaw slightly, looking her straight in the eye, as if trying to grasp the alien detachment that shaped her worldview. It was hard for him to accept such indifference to human life, but even harder to admit she might be right.

Valeria returned to the bed with the elegance of a runway model, each step deliberately exaggerated, as if she was playing his senses with calculated precision. She sat at the edge of the mattress, then fell back with a drawn-out sigh, as if returning to her natural throne. The swimsuit hugged her figure provocatively, highlighting every contour, every curve. She reached for the console again, her fingers wrapping around its plastic edges. The screen lit up once more, but the atmosphere in the room remained heavy and electric after her words.

— There’s nothing wrong with how you think — she added after a moment of silence. — I understand how you feel. That outlook makes you human, and in a way, it’s exactly why you’re interesting. I just hope that, over time, you’ll try to understand how I see this world. Not because you should agree with me, but because it might protect you.

— And not to jinx it... but odds are you’ll start thinking the same way. Assuming you survive, of course.

Adam frowned.

— What do you mean?

Valeria shot him a sideways glance.

— If you keep hunting only monsters weaker than you, you’ll get stuck sooner or later. Maybe you’ve already noticed—you’re not gaining any stats from killing the weak. Just experience. And that’s the secret. A subtle, but fundamental difference.

Valeria tilted her head and looked at him over her shoulder.

— EXP is just the ladder. But stats are the rungs that let you actually climb it. If you’re leveling up by only fighting those who pose no threat... your strength will be an illusion. You’ll look good on paper, but you won’t survive a fight against someone who evolved through real battles.

Her fingers danced across the console again, but her voice remained icily matter-of-fact.

— This system doesn’t reward comfort. It rewards pushing limits. Preferably bloody ones.

Adam looked at her, confused, not fully grasping what she was trying to tell him.

Valeria, seeing his expression, suddenly spoke again:

— Seriously...? — she sighed theatrically. — Has your imagination abandoned you?

She rolled her eyes and added more bluntly:

— I’m saying you’re an idiot if you think level is everything.

Her words weren’t cruel, but carried the sharpness of a teacher who’s run out of patience for stating the obvious.

— Imagine two people. Both level 50. One gained experience only by killing weaker enemies. The other fought stronger opponents, barely scraping by each time.

— The second one would have more stats? — Adam asked.

— Hundreds, maybe thousands more — she replied flatly. — It’s the difference between heaven and earth. So here’s a little advice: stop playing house and start looking for serious opponents.

Adam didn’t respond. His gaze narrowed, as if everything he’d heard was beginning to align into a logical, troubling picture.

He imagined two hunters walking the same path. One with a record of easy victories, spotless armor, and unshaken resolve. The other, scarred and limping, but sharper, tougher, forged in desperation. Only one of them would survive a real threat. The first might boast pristine stats and unblemished records, but the second—he would know what it meant to bleed, to adapt, to evolve when every moment teetered on the edge of death.

He began to understand why he hadn’t been gaining stats from recent battles. He started seeing numbers as echoes of choices. Every safe encounter built levels, but not strength. He was growing outward, not deeper.

He began to grasp the difference between a powerful-looking shadow and true depth. Stats weren’t just numbers. They were the sum of courage. The price of risk. And the reward for looking a monster in the eye, even when you had only a sliver of a chance. ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm

Understanding flickered in his eyes. Slowly, very slowly, he nodded.

— So that’s why... — he muttered more to himself than to her. — Level is just an empty shell. Without stats, I’m just a mockery of strength. Growing in numbers, but not in power.

Valeria didn’t even glance away from the screen. Her thumbs moved rapidly across the buttons, but a faint smile tugged at the corner of her lips.

She nodded in satisfaction.

Adam looked off to the side, as if he was only now beginning to formulate a plan in his mind.

— Tomorrow... instead of training the newbies, I’ll go hunting alone.

Valeria, still playing, pretended not to hear, but a small smile curled at the edge of her mouth.

— I’d suggest checking out the Supermarket near where you found your team.

Adam looked at her, surprised.

— Why there, specifically?

Valeria didn’t answer. Her gaze remained locked on the screen, fingers clicking away. As if she hadn’t heard the question. Adam sighed quietly, sensing he wouldn’t get anything more out of her.

He glanced at the bed again, frowning.

— Get off. I want to sleep.

Valeria didn’t lift her eyes from the console.

— No.

Adam squinted.

— Then where the hell am I supposed to sleep?

Valeria shrugged, still clicking buttons.

— Floor? Chair? Windowsill? The choice is yours.

Her tone was so nonchalant it might as well have been about ordering coffee.

A vein on his temple throbbed, heralding an impending outburst. Not only was she dropping cryptic advice, but now she was playing the spoiled princess.

He sighed heavily and approached the bed without a word, leaning over it.

He grabbed her under the arms like a bag of clothes, but after a second his brows lifted in surprise. She was surprisingly light—almost unreal, as if she didn’t weigh what she should. Like a ghost given physical form.

Without a shred of ceremony, he lifted her and flipped her in the air, tossing her off the bed.

Before Valeria could protest, she landed on her butt with a loud thump. Sitting on the cold floor, she massaged her rear with a look of such dramatically wounded betrayal, it was as if she’d just suffered unprecedented cruelty.

— How could you be so merciless... to me?! — she moaned, eyes glistening, staring at him like he was a monster in human skin.

Adam nearly doubled over, guilt and embarrassment clashing in his head at the sight of her pitiful expression, until...

— Nooo! I died!! — Valeria suddenly shrieked, throwing herself onto the floor, desperately grabbing for the console that had slipped from her hand, as if trying to resurrect a virtual character through sheer willpower.

A vein popped on Adam’s temple once more.

This content is taken from fr(e)ewebn(o)vel.𝓬𝓸𝓶