"B-bastard… I won't… admit defeat…"
The female street fighter muttered nonsense in her sleep as she lay in Leo's arms. Holding her slightly open-mouthed, Leo naturally understood what she meant.
Her body had long adapted to poison, so her senses were normal. Leo's body, however, had not.
That single difference led to one simple outcome.
She couldn't endure Leo's endurance.
And that was why Leo had been able to defeat her so thoroughly.
Street fighters, after all, lived by one creed: if you don't submit, you fight—and even in death, you don't admit defeat. That was their professional code.
But things like this couldn't be rushed.
And Leo was already more than satisfied.
Because the energy he gained was enormous.
He had only "attacked" the female street fighter once; everything afterward had been elsewhere. And yet—
"Over a thousand energy points…"
Staring at the 1,127 energy displayed on his panel, Leo felt genuinely stunned.
The street fighter had feelings for him, yes—but producing this much energy completely overturned his previous understanding.
Tsunade's emotional outburst had been far stronger, and Erina had clearly developed feelings for him. Yet it was the street fighter who yielded the most energy by far.
Even considering both attraction and emotional release together, the amount was still abnormal.
Something wasn't adding up.
"This isn't normal. Definitely not normal."
Frowning, Leo gently stroked the street fighter's scar-covered back, pulling her a little closer into his arms. That sense of trust only reinforced his suspicion that she truly liked him.
Love at first sight was rare—but not impossible.
And she had been a virgin.
"After all, Yellow Rose only gave five points…"
Leo recalled his encounter with Miss Yellow Rose. Despite how many times he had tried, the result had been a pitiful five points.
"Damn it… looks like I'll have to test this to be sure."
Taking a deep breath, Leo decided he needed to confirm whether Tangie genuinely liked him—or whether something else was at play.
So—
He chose to sleep first and deal with it tomorrow.
He wrapped his arms around Tangie and closed his eyes.
What he didn't know was that the moment he fell asleep, Tangie opened hers.
When Leo woke up in the morning, Tangie was gone.
She had left early—so early that he hadn't even had the chance to treat her to a meal. All that remained was a note with her address, saying that if he ever "needed something," he could come find her.
"Tsundere characters have been out of fashion for a long time, Tangie."
Leo chuckled softly, washed up, then ran into Rosh, who had come looking for him for breakfast.
After eating and studying the language for a bit, Leo took Rosh to the marketplace.
Naturally, there were merchants who bought iron ingots. Leo handed over one for appraisal, and once it was verified as genuine, he sold off the rest of the ingots he carried—earning three hundred gold coins.
Flush with cash again, he purchased some equipment, such as an iron sword and light armor, and began preparing to recruit an adventurer party.
There was only one reason.
Skill books.
The Blood Energy Secret Art was awkward and largely impractical—but it was obvious now that Leo could obtain all kinds of abilities through killing.
That meant hunting monsters was essential.
"So, want to form a party with me, Rosh?" Leo asked.
Rosh had nothing else to do and had been following him around the streets, occasionally offering suggestions.
"Well… I think it'd be better if you found a full party before going on adventures," Rosh said hesitantly. "But with weapons like yours, as long as you're careful, it should be fine?"
She trusted the power of Leo's firearms. If she activated her shield, Leo wouldn't stand a chance even with a gun—but against goblins, cat monsters, and the like, his weapons were more than enough.
"Yeah. I'd like to practice swordsmanship too," Leo shrugged, "but I obviously don't have that kind of time."
From the moment the swordsman had dropped the Blood Energy Secret Art, Leo knew he wouldn't be able to resist the temptation of rapid growth.
But killing humans freely in this world wasn't easy. This wasn't a true game world. Early on, adventurers mostly fought things like the fire-and-ice twin female mages, the Dragonkin and Seghart in Sky Tower, cultists controlled by Lotus, or undead in the Dark Elf graveyards.
All of those required strength—and a proper team.
Leo wanted to form a party in this world and see whether killing creatures like minotaurs might grant him new abilities.
Muscle-training skills, for example.
Since minotaurs and goblins were considered intelligent beings here, they should logically have similar drops. And testing it wouldn't hurt—no one was going to get pregnant from it.
It would also help him develop real combat instincts.
Fighting zombies in the Seven Days to Die world barely counted as combat. They were moving targets at best. With a gun and enough ammo, anything short of an absurd horde was manageable.
As for Blood Moon nights—
Those weren't tests of skill at all.
"No time?" Rosh asked, puzzled, but didn't press further.
"Doesn't matter. As long as you feed me, I'm in!" she said cheerfully, giving him a thumbs-up.
Leo: "…"
After thinking for a moment, Leo asked again,
"Do you know what preparations are needed for adventuring in Arad?"
That question silenced Rosh.
Her big eyes darted from Leo to herself. Then she spread her hands.
"Do we need anything else? Isn't it just catch whatever you find and eat it?"
How did you even survive in the demon world?!
Leo desperately wanted to ask.
Instead, he sighed helplessly and took out the note from his pocket.
"Looks like we'll need to consult a professional."
Staring at the street fighter's address, Leo decided to ask a true local.