[
Aether points: 1325.
Assign AP to Maid Lara Becker:
+ 00/20
]
'So… that's how it is…'
Mark had used the standard leveling system when designing Maids VS Apocalypse. By defeating monsters and completing quests, the characters would gain experience points. After those points reach a certain threshold the characters' level would increase, raising their stats with it.
It turns out things were different in the case of the Lower Realm Guidance System, and as soon as he understood that, Mark didn't hesitate to press A on the + symbol.
In a couple of seconds, the number changed from 00 to 20. A new screen appeared with the words "LEVEL UP!" written in bold letters. Mark mentally swiped it aside and focused on the + once more.
The number reached 30 before another "LEVEL UP!" appeared, and Mark repeated the process right away.
Without hesitation, he allocated all the Aether Points he had to Lara. Even as the gamer side of him screamed to wait, Mark didn't care. He was using more AP with each level up, but more was coming in as well.
~[ ]~
As she fought the never-ending hoard of beasts, Lara felt a mysterious energy flow into her and her lips curved into a smile.
Pain coursed through every cell of her body, chasing away the exhaustion slowing her down. The strength of her Force Field returned along with the precision and power behind her strikes.
She no longer showed any openings, and with the boost in speed she got, everything that entered a certain range from her was shredded without fail.
"What a generous master…" Lara muttered to herself, feeling her Mind and Soul grow stronger after surpassing each bottleneck. "Maybe I can use that now…"
Even as she continued her carnage, the beasts swarming her didn't let up one bit. Her spear dance continued to get deadlier and more elaborate.
Amidst the splattering blood and severed limbs, particles of light flickered into existence, slowly forming strange symbols and shapes above her head.
They were much like the glyphs that appeared over the heads of the monsters swarming her, but also different. They lacked the ominous red color, taking a white glow instead.
They were steady, clear, and uniform, like the calligraphy of a master whose hands had drawn the shapes since the inception of life.
Before long, a ring of Runes formed over Lara's head. Once the last Rune took its place, the entire ring started spinning, the different symbols and shapes forming it melding into each other to form a single halo.
With a smile on her face, Lara slammed her right foot firmly on the ground and held her spear at the ready. A bright white glow slowly enveloped its blade, and when it did, Lara swung the spear with everything she had.
The spearhead sliced through the approaching abominations, cutting through their hard scale and tough hides with ease, but the damage it inflicted didn't stop there.
A wide arc of white energy followed its trajectory and spread outward, bisecting everything in its way for a few dozen meters.
Fountains of blood sprang up wherever the white arc passed. Monsters were cleaved in half and heads rolled everywhere. Even buildings didn't survive the strike, and the otherworldly obsidian stone growing everywhere split and shattered.
A long moment of silence took over the burning street. Only the sound of rubble falling and fire crackling could be heard.
That silence couldn't last long as evidenced by the demented cries in the distance, but for the time being the threat they faced seemed to have been dealt with.
After checking to see if any of the monsters were still moving, Lara turned her focus to the crashed SUV only to find her master gazing at her in a daze.
His eyes reflected her halo, the question on his mind being why she had something he only ever saw on the monsters trying to kill them.
From her limited observation, Lara hypothesized that the young man －as far as his appearance went, at least－ had lost all of his memories, putting him on the same level as a newly Awakened human from a Lower Realm. Since the only time he saw a Halo was on the Fallen attacking them, witnessing her manifest one of her own must have been quite a shocking development.
His confusion was clear even under the flickering light of the flames burning their surroundings. Lara was sure he had many questions, but none of them mattered right now. They were alive, and they still had to survive.
Dismissing her halo, Lara breathed in then took a step toward the young man. A sharp whistling sound reached her ears at that moment, and her eyes snapped open as she looked up with a start.
Before she could react, something massive fell from the sky right behind her, sending a shockwave that washed over everything like the wind of a violent storm.
~[ ]~
The entire city shook as if struck by a violent meteor. Lara was sent hurling into a nearby building while Mark was tossed back a few meters along with the car behind him.
A piece of rubble fell on his left leg crushing it entirely. Mark screamed and cursed, his consciousness slipping away by the second. His lips bled as he bit into them while his tears turned red from the leaking wound on his head.
Barely holding on to his sanity, he glared in the direction of the impact through the blurry red filter. Just when he managed to regain a sliver of hope, the Mad Demon himself showed, bringing with him despair on a whole other level.
The crimson crown was the first to appear behind the curtain of smoke and dust. The single eye glowing with endless malice followed, striking terror into anyone who dared to look into it.
A pair of wings spread outward creating powerful winds that cleared the air in the surroundings. Malarak revealed his form to the puny human, and with the new crown on his head, he walked out of the massive crater, taking slow steps toward the one who gave him so much trouble.
"I… THANK YOU, O FOOLISH ONE." A guttural voice spoke, its source none other than the black dragon. "IF NOT FOR YOUR FUTILE STRUGGLE, THIS LORD WOULD NEVER HAVE FOUND THE WILL TO ASCEND."