Lin Moze glanced at Marin Kitagawa's opponent—a Kabane covered in countless knife wounds.
These marks were the result of Marin's morning-long battle.
To be fair, Marin had made remarkable progress.
She had gone from being too scared to attack and screaming while being chased to slashing blindly with her eyes closed—
And now, she could accurately target the neck with a single strike.
Her improvement was nothing short of amazing.
Lin Moze suspected that this rapid adaptation was influenced by her Stand ability.
Stands—manifestations of spiritual power—often changed their users' mental states in the original stories.
Many weak-willed characters had grown fearless after awakening their Stands.
The relationship between Stand abilities and willpower was mutual and reinforcing.
While Marin's Stand, Yellow Temperance, appeared first, it seemed to have started affecting her mindset.
Lin Moze thought this was perfectly reasonable.
The results spoke for themselves—and that was enough for him.
"Alright," Lin Moze clapped his hands.
"That's enough practice cutting Kabane. You're clearly not afraid of them anymore."
He stepped forward, kicking the Kabane down and taking the knife from Marin's hands.
The blade was now dull and notched from prolonged use.
"Honestly," Lin Moze said, inspecting the knife, "trying to chop through a Kabane's spine with this thing is a tall order."
"So why not think of other ways to kill it?"
Marin blinked. "Other ways?"
"That's right," Lin Moze said, his tone suggestive.
"Like using your Stand."
Marin hesitated. "But Yellow Temperance isn't offensive—it only helps me transform and defend."
Lin Moze spread his hands.
"Maybe it's never shown offensive abilities because you never considered it could."
"You're its master—if you believe it can transform and defend, that's all it'll do."
"You love anime and games, right?" Lin Moze asked.
"You know what a slime monster is?"
"Of course! Slimes are classic fantasy monsters."
Lin Moze's voice turned hypnotic.
"Don't you think your Yellow Temperance looks a lot like a slime?"
"Have you ever thought about making it eat your enemies—just like a slime would?"
Marin's eyes widened.
"Eat?"
She looked at the Kabane, slowly advancing toward her.
Her internal struggle was clear.
A moment later, Marin bit her lip and asked, "Isn't that... kind of gross?"
Lin Moze shrugged.
"That depends on how you think about it."
"I'm just suggesting it as an option. If it works, you'll have another way to survive this apocalypse."
Seeing her hesitation, Lin Moze patted her shoulder.
"Think about it for a bit. I'll be packing up—time to move out soon."
He turned and walked away, leaving Marin to grapple with her decision.
As Lin Moze left, Marin faced the Kabane once more, biting her lip.
Finally, after a difficult internal struggle, she raised her hand.
The sound of flesh being dissolved reached Lin Moze's ears.
A smile crept across his face.
"She's finally starting to unlock the true potential of that Stand."
By noon, the two were walking through a deserted street.
"Ugh! I feel so disgusting!" Marin groaned for the hundredth time.
"Relax," Lin Moze said, patting her back.
"It wasn't you eating the Kabane—it was your Stand."
"Just think of it as the game system breaking it down for loot."
"Still!" Marin whined. "It felt gross!"
Lin Moze handed her a sausage.
"Eat this—you'll feel better."
Marin took a fierce bite, chewing quickly before glaring at him.
"You're so calm about this—probably because you're not the one eating monsters!"
"Who knows?" Lin Moze smirked.
"Maybe I have eaten one—just not in front of you."
"Yeah, right!" Marin stuck out her tongue.
Then she pointed ahead.
"Hey! Is that the supermarket you mentioned?"
Lin Moze followed her gaze, spotting the green sign of their target.
It wasn't huge—just a two-story building with storage space behind it.
Enough supplies, but not big enough to attract too many survivors—or Kabane.
Why not buy food from the Savior Panel?
For one, Lin Moze owed the Dimensional Merchant 100,000 points.
Even without debt, he preferred saving points for better rewards.
The automatic doors were broken.
One was shattered, and the other was blocked by a Kabane corpse.
Lin Moze's sense ability activated, scanning the interior.
His face darkened.
"There's danger inside."
He turned to Marin.
"Stay here and protect yourself with Yellow Temperance."
"Wait for my signal."
Marin's expression turned serious.
"Be careful!"
Lin Moze nodded and stepped inside.
The moment he entered, his danger sense flared—
A threat waited behind the third aisle.
Like a predator, it lurked in the shadows, preparing to strike.
But Lin Moze's enhanced senses rendered the ambush useless.
Now, his only question was—
What kind of monster was this?
And more importantly—
What "nutrients" could it offer?
---
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