Leveling Up Wives In The Apocalypse

“That will be all,” Mathew announced after he managed to get rid of the stupid grin from his lips. “For now, that is,” he added, the right corner of his mouth twitching up despite Mathew’s desperate attempts to keep it down.

“Or wait,” the young man called, raising his hand to stop the realm from shattering. “Is there any way to compare the statistics of the weapons?”

It was an obvious question, yet one that Mathew was stupidly late with.

‘Sure, this blade feels just right in my hand,’ Mathew thought, looking down at his brand new weapon. ‘But it might be far worse due to the lack of accumulated power.’

Mathew’s worrywart nature surfaced as doubt filled his heart.

And then, a grin returned to his lips.

On the merchant’s side, there was no reaction. No voice filled Mathew’s ears…

But just like many times before, he could somewhat perceive this transpositional being showing its amusement.

“That means I’m close, but not close enough with the answer, right?” Mathew gave up on his attempts to stop his smile, openly sharing it with the merchants. He then raised his hand and then waved it down._.

“Send me back, for now, would ya?”

This time, the merchant’s realm collapsed properly, not stopped with any last-minute questions.

“Your ax!” Nadia uttered in a small voice as her eyebrows shoot up on her forehead.

The very moment Mathew returned to reality, she noticed the change.

‘I wonder how it looks on her end,’ Mathew thought, his grin still firmly holding on to his lips.

The young man then raised his arm and swung his curved blade.

Its crude, simplistic even, design made it extremely simple to execute slashes. Yet, it was this simplicity that hardly allowed any room for error.

“Here,” Mathew said, pushing his hand out while twisting his saber so that it would face downwards. “Try it,” he ordered, passing the weapon over to Nadia’s hand.

“This is…” the girl reluctantly accepted the blade, taking several seconds to find the proper grip on its handle.

‘It’s just a bit shorter than her arm,’ Mathew thought, watching how Nadia’s eyes glistered while glued to the tiny markings engraved into the blade.

“That’s…” Nadia opened up her mouth, only for an exasperated sigh to come out. “That’s a royal blade,” she said, raising her eyes from the metal to Mathew’s face. “Can I…” she acted while lowering her eyes and allowing a small blush on her cheeks.

Mathew’s grin mellowed down into a happy, warm smile. The awe in Nadia’s eyes was the greatest reward he could ask for… Even if he didn’t do much himself.

Nadia stretched her arm out as she turned around to get more space. And then, she cut a cross in the air with two, rapid swings.

‘Woah,’ Mathew wheezed his breath in, surprised when Nadia finished her move. ‘I didn’t even see the beginning of her attack!’

Nadia’s eyes glistered with excitement as she looked down at the weapon in her hand. She then moved those beautiful eyes and rested them on Mathew’s counterparts.

“…Can I?” she asked in a tiny voice. Her eyes opened up wide, putting her emotions fully on display.

“Sure thing,” Mathew replied in an easy-going voice. He then raised his hand and grabbed at his chest before gripping tightly.

‘Why is she so damn cute…?!’ he thought, keeping a smile on his face while he clutched at his heart to keep it beating.

“On that note, though, I need to know one thing.” Mathew shook his head, cutting his own amusement for the sake of practical matters. “Do you want to use the saber alone, or would you rather keep the machete as well?”

“Oh?” Nadia jumped a little, the question taking her by a surprise. She raised her hand and rubbed her chin for a moment before getting herself back in a training stance.

Nadia then swung her new weapon a few times, while holding out her smaller blade in her left hand.

‘That’s my girl,’ Mathew thought when Nadia’s movements quickly grew more coordinated and fluid. Her frantic and seemingly random attacks arranged themselves in patterns, allowing the girl to conserve her momentum as she slashed her way forward.

‘I wouldn’t want to happen to be in the path of this attack,’ Mathew thought, gulping down a mouthful of saliva.

It didn’t take much of one’s imagination to add mental zombies in Nadia’s path, only for their body parts to come flying all over the place.

“You are like a slashing machine,” Mathew commented, before clapping his hands. “Damn, that was insane,” he added, releasing the breath that he held for a while.

“You say?” Nadia turned around and asked, before sending a doubtful look toward her machete. “It didn’t really feel well in my hand though,” she explained, weighting the weapon in her hand.

“Well, let’s see,” she then said, dropping her weapon on the ground before taking a stance with a saber alone.

What followed was so delicate that it nearly eluded Mathew’s eyes.

If Nadia turned into a slashing machine before, she then became an elusive dancer that moved along the bends of space.

Her swings would cut at the air while flowing along with it. Her steps would very well carry her forward yet also backward. Her jumps would work even in the air, as likely to bring her down as they were to raise her higher.

‘It’s like she could casually break the laws of physics with every move,’ Mathew thought, unable to even swallow in the shock caused by the show.

“You are like a sword goddess…” Mathew muttered, raising his hand out for the girl’s delicate face, only to stop it just an inch away from her cheek.

‘It feels like a blasphemy to touch something so godly,’ Mathew thought, stunned to the core.

The aura that Nadia gave out at this very moment grabbed the young man’s soul and squeezed hard, keeping him rooted in place.

His eyes opened wide, as Mathew lost his ability to do anything but stare at the enlighted spark behind Nadia’s eyes.

“Mathew?” the girl’s face quickly turned still, losing the charm of her satisfied smile as a bruise of worry appeared on her forehead. “Are you okay?”

“Hahaha…” Mathew laughed out, finally able to shake off his shock. He then reached out and rested his hand on Nadia’s cheek, only to pull her head forward and rest his forehead on hers. “I’m fine, thank you for worrying,” he said, giving the two of them a moment to regain their cool.

ɴ[0ᴠᴇ]ʟ “I don’t want to interrupt your moment, guys,” Leila’s voice invaded Mathew’s eardrums, pulling him out of his wholesome bubble back into the harem-ish reality. “But can I get this kind of weapon too?” she asked, while reluctance, worry, and excitement mixed on her face.

“Sure thing,” Mathew smiled gently. He then took his time to give Nadia a fleeting hug before snatching the saber from her hand and throwing it to Leila. “The drill is the same for both of you,” he then called out only to bring his arms back around Nadia’s delicate shoulders. “Find out whether you want two weapons or one, so that I know how many swords to get.”