"Say, Lara… How did you defeat that lizardman? The first one, I mean?"
When she heard the question, Lara was bewildered, to say the least. Her master, the person who supposedly wrote into their contract that she must refer to him as such, had a serious look as he awaited her answer making her believe he really did not know.
"Please pardon me…" Holding a hand to her forehead, she thought for a moment then asked.
'Does he… does he think I have some other ability?' She thought. 'That must be it. He did not see how defeated that Fallen so it is only natural to assume…'
"I only used my Force Field, Master." She said, expecting him to show an expression of realization.
"A force field?"
When he tilted his head and furrowed his brows in confusion, fear welled up in the maid's heart.
The contract she signed was impeccable so she expected her summoner to be an experienced Awakened, but soon after she arrived in her new body she found him collapsed on the floor with none of the dignity one would expect from someone capable of reaching such heights.
She had to care for him as he slept through an entire day, and when he finally woke up, he was surprised to see her there.
Even after all of that she still held on to the hope that her worries might be for nothing. That turned out to be wishful thinking on her part when the young man started pretending she wasn't there as he went on with his life.
By the time he finally recognized her existence, Lara had gathered that the world she was summoned into was far from what she had expected. There were far too many Dormants around and beside her master, she only ever sensed one other Awakened so far. That could only mean one thing.
'So it is a Lower Realm after all.' She finally admitted to herself, no longer able to look away from the truth. 'I was summoned into a Lower Realm, and one that has yet to go through its First Ascension at that...' Heaving a long sigh, she put effort into her composure and tried to look at it from a different angle. 'But… even if that was the case, he could not possibly be…'
Her supposed master didn't even know what she was nor did he know about Force Fields. His words and actions so far pointed at him being a recent Awakened from a Lower Realm, but that didn't explain his powerful Soul or her summon.
'Memory loss?' She speculated. 'That might be the case…'
"You do not know about Force Fields?" She asked, wanting to ascertain her conclusion.
The youth shook his head. "No."
"But… did you not use yours on the way here?"
Her question caused him to look even more confused.
"I… I did?"
"The vehicle." She said, glancing behind her. "It was coated in your Force Field the entire time. How else would we have escaped the winged Fallen's flames?"
His reckless consumption of Mental Power was quite concerning, however she guessed that someone capable of summoning her would have the focus needed to keep them safe.
"I… don't really know what you're talking about." Saying that, her master frowned then held his chin and murmured to himself. "A Force Field? Is that some skill or spell? Now that I look at it, my MP is less than fifty…"
Seeing him in that state only increased Lara's worries. Wanting to confirm how far gone he was, she probed him with another question.
"What about Runes?"
He blinked at her a couple of times. His eyes swam around for a few seconds before he returned his sights to her and spoke.
"Do they have something to do with the System?"
Lara blinked.
"System?"
"The Lower Realm Guidance System." The youth replied, looking as confused. "I got a message saying I can't do some things because I don't have access to some runes." He went back to staring at empty space before looking up with a start. "Wait, you don't know about the System?"
Apparently, he expected her to be aware of whatever that was, but turns out she was as clueless as him. The term itself seemed to describe the purpose of said system, however this was her first time hearing about it.
"Oh man… And here I was hoping you would tell me more about it. This thing doesn't seem to have an AI…"
At that point, she could wait no longer. The question had to be asked before they could proceed any further.
"Please wait, Master." She raised her hand, prompting him to silently listen. "You seem to be ignorant on the topic of Runes. May I inquire about the method you used in the summon?"
There was no denying he was her summoner; the contract linked their Souls so she couldn't possibly mistake him for someone else.
If he was unaware of the process of performing the summon then the only explanation would be that his memories had somehow been erased right after their contract was signed.
She was already prepared for his answer so nothing he said should've surprised her, but when the youth spoke his words seemed to shock her nonetheless.
"I didn't." He answered nonchalantly. "It's a function of the System, apparently."
At this point, Lara could only wonder what she had gotten herself into. The underground building they hid in trembled violently and she was once again reminded of the powerful Fallen targeting them.
That thing was a clear indication that this world was Ascending not through normal means but by the forceful invasion of a Fallen World, which signaled an eminent Complete Dimensional Collapse.
'What have I gotten myself into?' She thought to herself. 'Why did I have to accept that contract?'
"This place won't hold for long…" The youth spoke in a grave tone. "We need to come up with a plan to deal with that thing."
A couple of minutes passed before the youth spoke again, but this time he didn't come at her with another basic question.
~[ ]~
"Listen, our goal is to escape, not to defeat that thing. We will try to outrun it, but if we can't…"
Lara jumped off the tall building just as the bright flash began to fade. In her hands, she held a strange spear granted to her by the young man. Its head was glowing with the blue light of an enchantment, which was quite a surprise when she first saw it.
She had almost lost hope in her youthful-looking summoner, thinking he had lost almost all of the Knowledge he mastered over his long years of being an Awakened.
When he produced the enchanted spear, however, Lara realized that maybe not all was lost.
Whatever tragedy had resulted in her master falling into such a miserable state, if she were to assist and guide him, he would one day overcome it and rise to his previous status.
'I was right after all-' She thought to herself while coating the spear in her Force Field. 'He is no ordinary Awakened.'
Time seemed to slow down around her and silence filled the world. With all the power she could muster, the silver-haired maid brought the spear down, thrusting it right into the rampaging Fallen's closed right eye.