Conquering Heroines: Starting From A World Of Zombies

In this world, every person is born with only one elemental technique—and that's all they'll ever have.

These abilities are confined to the domains of Earth, Water, Wind, and Fire.

While some may appear to manipulate metal or magma, they are in truth merely controlling variations of Earth.

Similarly, no one can wield more than one elemental ability—except for one extraordinary individual:

The Avatar.

Avatars are unique elemental users who harbor the spirit of a god within them. They reincarnate generation after generation, each incarnation growing stronger than the last. Their powers evolve with time, and they alone possess the ability to control all four elements.

But outside of the Avatar, no one else—not even with divine favor—can wield more than one element.

Elemental powers are innate. If you weren't born with one, you'll never gain it—not through learning, not through training. Only divine intervention could ever change that, and even then, not to the extent of mastering multiple elements.

Because, in truth, the elements conflict with one another.

Earth is strong, Fire is fierce, Water is kind, and Air is harmonious.

Typically, an elemental user's affinity hints at their personality.

"Whoa... What is this?"

Ryuji stared in amazement at the swirling sphere of water he now controlled. He could feel its unusual properties, sense the water around him—and by expending stamina, he could manipulate it freely.

And oddly enough, when he moved in certain ways, the water became easier to control.

He had no idea how he got this ability. He was absolutely certain he didn't have it before. So, he quickly opened his skill panel to investigate.

And to his surprise, he found something new had appeared:

•Elemental Master (Water) Lv1: You can now control water in the nature. As a beginner, it's best to use certain movements to help channel the element's power—without them, your control will be clumsy and weak.

And don't even think about manipulating the water in people's bodies, or doing things like evaporation-based attacks or nuclear fusion. You're nowhere near that level.

You can't create water out of thin air either. You're only able to control what's already there.

This is a power originating from the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender. You've simply awakened the ability to bend water. The limitations of this world still apply. So don't go thinking you're the Avatar.

He was genuinely shocked. Up until now, most of the skills he acquired from the 7 Days to Die system—especially the lower-tier ones—weren't even recognized on his skill panel. Only the Flame Manipulation ability, which had been officially unlocked later, had ever been recorded.

But now this one, suddenly and mysteriously gained, was actually acknowledged?

Interesting…

"Well, if I can awaken powers from this world too... I guess this multiversal body of mine really is broken as hell."

Still, gaining a new ability didn't distract Ryuji from the situation at hand.

"Looks like you're actually trying to kill her. Sorry, buddy, but I'm going to have to take this up a notch."

Ryuji calmly drew his handgun and aimed it at the woman ahead—Azula.

Without the 7 Days to Die interface, he no longer had an aim-assist reticle. His marksmanship, average at best, meant he couldn't afford to waste bullets. So, he took careful aim.

But the moment he raised his weapon, the woman named Azula felt a powerful sense of danger. She immediately darted away, weaving through the terrain in search of cover.

Ryuji fired.

The searing-hot bullet ripped through the air, grazing her cheek and slicing a few strands of hair. Azula gasped sharply, her expression flashing with genuine fear—this man really was trying to kill her.

A man chasing after her cried out upon seeing the bullet embed itself into a wall behind her.

"Please, stop! I never wanted to kill her!"

But Ryuji remained unmoved.

"Sorry—but I do."

He pulled the trigger again and again, unleashing a barrage of gunfire. The man responded with sweeping arm movements, conjuring powerful flames to obscure Ryuji's vision—but notably, he never attacked Ryuji directly.

"Please! I'll make it up to you for whatever she did! Just don't kill her!"

He spread his arms wide, stepping between Ryuji and Azula in a desperate bid to shield her. But Ryuji had no intention of stopping. Behind the man, Azula was already preparing another lightning strike.

Ryuji discarded the pistol.

He drew his machine gun.

In the next instant, a hail of bullets tore through the air, aimed directly at Azula. But just before the bullets hit, a wall of earth erupted from the ground, intercepting the gunfire and locking Azula in place—immobilizing her completely.

Stunned, Ryuji turned toward the source of the power. A familiar voice called out to him.

"Ryuji! You're here already?!"

He turned—and saw Toph crawling out from a pit in the earth. With a casual wave of her hand, the surrounding terrain shifted effortlessly to clear her path.

A faint blush colored her cheeks as she walked toward him.

"Toph? You saved her?" Ryuji asked, lowering his weapon. He'd give her that much respect.

"Well, I had no choice," she shrugged. "That guy's my teammate. And the crazy woman over there—Azula—is his older sister. I don't know why he brought her out here, but since we're all part of the same team trying to save the world, I had to step in. Don't worry, I'll make it up to you."

She gestured for him to come over.

Suddenly, the ground beneath Ryuji's feet shifted—before he could react, he was standing right beside Toph.

Looking down, he realized the floor beneath him hadn't moved—it was still the same tile. But the surrounding ground clearly showed signs of displacement.

In other words, when fighting Toph, even the ground would betray you.

No wonder she was so confident. She was seriously strong.

"You know him, Toph?" the man chasing Azula—Zuko—asked in surprise. He clearly hadn't expected her to be acquainted with someone who could wield two elements.

"Of course I do, Zuko," Toph replied with a smirk. "This is my new boyfriend."

"Boyfriend? You? Him? Wait—then… do you know he can use two elements?!"

Zuko's voice was full of alarm.

To him, Ryuji possessing two elemental abilities was a far bigger problem than Azula escaping.

In this world, there was supposed to be only one Avatar. And even that had stirred enough trouble already. The Avatar avoided becoming a research subject only because of their strength and their ability to reincarnate.

If news spread that someone else could wield multiple elements, it wouldn't just be Ryuji who was hunted down for study. Countless others could become test subjects too. The fragile peace of the world would shatter in an instant.

"Wait, what?!"

Toph looked at Ryuji in surprise but quickly assumed his new ability must have been gained in another world and merely mistaken for elemental bending in this one.

"Hmm… I honestly don't know how you got that. Anyway, even though I have no idea why you released Azula, one thing's for sure—we need to have a serious talk."

Toph placed her hands on her hips. Ryuji subtly tugged at her sleeve, signaling her not to reveal that he was from another world. She gave him a small smile in return, silently assuring him with a quiet "Got it."

Later, on the way to Toph's temporary residence, she carefully introduced Ryuji to her teammates without mentioning anything about alternate worlds. Instead, she simply said he was from a powerful Earth Kingdom nation—nothing more.

Once they arrived, Ryuji met the rest of her squad. First was a bald kid with an arrow on his head who looked like pure comic relief. Then there was a guy carrying a long spear who clearly didn't do well with women. And finally, a woman who seemed more like a caretaker than a fighter—she immediately started wiping Toph's hands the moment she walked in.

All of them were stunned by Ryuji's presence. Not only had Toph somehow found herself a boyfriend in record time, but this "boyfriend" could use two types of bending. That alone left them speechless.

Ryuji quickly learned their names. The goofy bald kid was Aang, apparently this world's "Avatar." The motherly woman was Katara, and the spear-wielding guy—clearly unlucky in love—was her brother, Sokka.

That's when everything started to click for Ryuji.

He finally understood why Zuko had been chasing Azula, and what had driven Azula to her current madness.

"So basically," Ryuji summarized, holding out his hands, "your dad was a garbage parent, your mom didn't show enough affection, and that made your sister believe fear was the best way to get along with the people. Eventually, she went completely off the rails, alienated everyone, and broke down after you defeated her in the struggle for the throne."

He paused, then added with brutal frankness:

"She lost the royal contest to you, who are now the current Fire Lord, right? And now she's in this mental spiral. You busted her out of a mental hospital so you could go find your mom together and fix this whole emotional disaster?"

Zuko nodded stiffly.

"So… that's why she tried to kill me? Because I was in the way?" Ryuji muttered.

"Fine. I'll kill her for you and clean up the body too—no guilt, no loose ends. All I ask is you cover the cost of my destroyed laptop. Deal?"

The moment he finished speaking, Ryuji came to a conclusion:

Zuko was genuinely a good guy.

Not many rulers would let their disgraced, insane, ex-royal sister live—much less try to help her heal emotionally.

That took real moral backbone.

But…

Ryuji wasn't sure who Mai or Ty Lee were, but it was clear that Azula wasn't the type to show gratitude.

"Heh heh heh… What's wrong with using fear?" Azula muttered, eyes wild. "Friendship and love are lies! Zuko, you, Mai, Ty Lee—you're all proof of that!"

She glared at Zuko, completely ignoring everything Ryuji had just said.

The rest of the team, however, was very much paying attention.

And after Ryuji made his offer, all eyes turned toward Toph.

"Uhh, Toph... is your boyfriend a little intense?" Sokka and Aang asked in near unison.

Toph didn't even hesitate. She raised her fists and bonked them both on the head.

"What are you two talking about? Azula literally tried to kill him. Of course he fought back—what else do you expect?"

Toph's tone was serious, her expression stern.

The two guys rubbed their heads and wisely decided to shut up.

Ryuji chuckled darkly at the scene.

"Seems like you guys aren't too thrilled."

But he decided not to drag the matter out.

"Well then, how about you just compensate me? I mean, no way I'm eating the cost of my wrecked laptop."

He wasn't about to take the loss lying down.

Sparing Azula because of Toph's request was already pushing his limits. If they didn't pay up, he wouldn't hesitate to toss a grenade at Zuko and call it a day.

"No problem."

Zuko responded immediately. He gave a slight nod to one of his guards, who promptly brought over a small chest and handed it to Ryuji.

At first, Ryuji didn't think much of it. But the moment he held it, he realized how heavy it was.

He opened it—and was stunned.

Inside were stacks of solid gold bars, neatly arranged alongside a pink gemstone the size of a ping-pong ball.

That jewel alone had to be worth millions. And the gold? Easily five kilograms, minimum.

"This is just part of it," Zuko said calmly. "We're still on the road, so we can only spare a limited amount of resources. I hope this will suffice for now."

He didn't seem pained about giving it away in the slightest.

Neither did the rest of the group.

That's when Ryuji realized—

This squad was ridiculously rich.

With money in hand, Ryuji decided not to linger. He had no interest in sticking around this world any longer than necessary.

"Well then, I'll be off, Toph."

As he spoke, Ryuji opened his world-travel interface, planning to find a quiet place to teleport from.

When he glanced at the display, though, he noticed something odd—

All the travel costs had gone up. By 50 points.

He stared at the new numbers.

"2050 energy to enter Robin's world? I only have 2020…"

His face twisted into a complicated expression.

"Looks like... I'll need a bit more help."

Ryuji's first thought, now flush with gold and standing in what felt like an ancient world, was simple:

Find a brothel.

He couldn't help but want to indulge a little in the old-world luxury and decadence, especially now that he could afford it.

But just as he turned to leave, a sharp voice rang out behind him.

"You're not going anywhere today!"

Toph, she grabbed the back of his shirt tightly. In her mind, since Ryuji had sought her out, it meant she had a duty to fulfill what she'd promised earlier.

Ryuji glanced down at her... and sighed internally.

Her chest was flat. Completely. His mouth twitched slightly in disappointment.

"What if I told you... I'm really not interested?"

Before he could even finish the sentence, a forest of stone pillars erupted from the ground, and the earth wrapped tightly around his legs, locking him in place.

"Then maybe you'll be interested in some bending lessons?" Toph smirked. "Sure, you're good with fire... but your water bending? Yeah, not so much."

She didn't really care how he had learned water bending. She just didn't want him to leave yet—not before she had a chance to fulfill her word. A promise was a promise.

And in Toph's world, a promise must be kept. No exceptions.

Otherwise, what kind of person would she be? A liar? A cheat? A backstabbing coward?

Unacceptable.

"Oh right, we almost forgot about that!" Aang clapped his hands as if remembering something important, then turned to Ryuji.

"Sorry if this is sudden," he said seriously, "but... I need to ask you something. Please try not to reveal that you can use two types of bending."

He raised a hand quickly, adding, "It's not because I'm worried about being the 'only' Avatar or anything. It's just... if word gets out, it could cause trouble. For you. And others."

"But don't worry," Aang offered with a gentle smile. "I'll help you learn how to control your powers."

His tone was calm but sincere.

The Avatar was a figure no one dared to mess with—not because of raw strength alone, but because of reincarnation. While the Avatar forgot everything with each new life, their soul still carried echoes of past memories and personalities. In times of crisis, those echoes could awaken—bringing immense power.

So, if someone pissed off the Avatar to study their powers, they might survive this lifetime...

But once the Avatar reincarnated and regained those past memories?

You were toast.

Ryuji wasn't the Avatar. He was strong, yes—but nowhere near that level. Aang was absolutely right. If Ryuji exposed his dual-bending abilities, it wouldn't matter if he had power—his life could become a nightmare.

For someone like him, the best path was to stay lowkey.

And if anyone could teach someone how to master multiple elements?

It was the Avatar.

"...Huh?"

Ryuji raised an eyebrow, but when he met Toph's firm gaze, he gave a shrug and nodded.

"Fine. Doesn't bother me."

He could live without fire or water for a while. No big deal.

But none of them noticed Azula's expression.

And so, Ryuji ended up staying at Toph's place. The rest of the Avatar team gathered that evening to discuss what to do about Azula.

Thanks to that, Toph never got the chance to sneak into Ryuji's room that night.

But then—

"Be my man."

Ryuji woke up in the middle of the night, instincts firing from his danger sense.

He blinked hard—and found Azula straddling him on the bed, eyes blazing with mad intent.

Question marks appeared in his mind. 

Are your prison cells made of paper?!