The Demon lost all reason and unleashed its domain, turning everything in its surroundings into one massive swamp. Everything lted inside the nightmarish cauldron, be it buildings, the obsidian, or the monster’s own spawn.
The smart ones knew to flee ahead of ti, but many failed to do so, driven by the hunger for human flesh and Aether. Death ca from the front and from the back yet all they could do was charge at the humans believing that’s all it would take to devour them.
All of them were slaves to those mad desires, but not all went about satisfying them the sa way. The longer they survive, the more prey they consu. And the more prey they consu, the less clouded their minds beco.
Hunting and devouring would still be their ultimate goal, but unlike before, the ways they could go about it would increase.
They could charge straight at the prey and try to dominate it, or they could keep their distance and hide in the shadows, watching as the humans lower their guard and waiting for the right mont.
~[ ]~
[Lara has defeated an Exo-ape (Fiend)]
[ 21 AP]
Mark watched as Lara took care of the monster. After the ssage disappeared, he turned to the big Peace Keeper and asked "What are the Ranks for Awakened?"
Ben raised the thick index finger of his gauntlet-clad right hand and grinned.
"There are nine, of course. It starts with Dormant, and when one Awakens they beco an Awakened, just like you!"
’This author’s naming sense is ass...’ Mark frowned and waited for the rest of the explanation.
Franco took over from there.
"When you level up five tis you’ll Rank up for the first ti. For most people that’s when their System gets upgraded for the first ti. You on the other hand... I got no idea!"
Mark’s Level 5 LRGS had all the functions of the lower Levels and more so there were no updates waiting for him at the next threshold. He frowned a little, feeling like he was missing a big event, like a genius who went from middle school straight to college without getting to experience high school life.
"One more thing..." Franco paused to take a puff from his cigarette. "Raising one’s Rank unlocks access to more powerful Abilities, but that doesn’t really matter to you since your Soul stat is already at the Knight Rank."
Sothing exploded in the distance, drawing all of their attention. They saw a large ball shoot up into the sky only to unfold and turn into the giant scorpion gorilla.
The mont it did, a giant sword manifested right above it and ca swinging down. Though they couldn’t see its owner from a distance, everyone knew it was their petite squadmate Elya.
"Hey, what did you an by that?"
The other day Ramsay had told him the others only knew about him being a Level 5 with a summon and nothing else. He understood that as them not being aware of the details about his stats, but the way the Italian spoke made him suspect that they knew sothing.
"Ah, you’re wondering how I knew?" The Italian smirked. "Don’t tell you expected us to not find out after your little show from the other day."
The reply only confused Mark more, and seeing that, Ben decided to clear things up.
"It’s your Soul Pressure, lad. It’s no secret if you go around showing off like you did back then."
"That’s not wh-"
"We know," Franco interrupted. "But that’s not the point. Well, what was I trying to say before? Ah, right." He paused to take another puff from his almost-spent cigarette. "Since you had a soul in the triple digits from the start-"
Mark winced, feeling the sting of having been read like an open book.
"You most likely have a lot of Abilities just waiting for you to unlock. You won’t have to worry about leveling up and raising your stats to get so."
Mark rembered Natalie telling him sothing similar. She told him that his high Mind and Soul stat would allow him to learn and use a wide variety of Abilities, but this was the first ti he heard what it’s like for others.
’So normal people have to raise their Soul stat first...’ Mark’s eyes suddenly went wide. ’The Soul Stat!’
He wanted to punch himself in the face for having forgotten sothing so crucial. The Soul stat was one of the two requirents needed to expand his base so he could summon other maids.
At the mont, Mark had enough for two more, but he wasn’t about to stop at that. Once the System Upgrade quest is finished, he intends to introduce more maids into his ga, which would in turn allow him to build an entire army on nothing but his beautiful maids.
To achieve that goal he needed to raise his stats as fast as possible. Since he had no idea how to raise nonphysical stats such as Focus, Mind, and Soul, Mark intended to ask his new squadmates for advice. The incident with Lara happened right after, however, making him forget all about it.
"Say, how do you raise stats like Mind and Soul?"
He believed that the question was natural considering the topic of their conversation, but when the big guy and the skinny one turned to him with strange looks, Mark understood it wasn’t that simple.
"I’m sorry to disappoint you, but..." After keeping his silence for a while, Franco heaved a sigh and shook his head. "The only way to raise the Soul stat is leveling up."
"... huh?"
Mark felt as if a bucket of freezing water had been spilled over his head.
"C’mon! You could’ve been a bit more considerate with that!" Ben let out a short laugh. "Sorry to tell you, lad, but Soul won’t go up without that AP."
As the sounds of battle echoed in the distance, Mark stood there staring at Franco with a dumbfounded look on his face. His mind failed to comprehend what he had just heard.
"Hey, aren’t stats supposed to rise with practice?" He asked.
"Yes," Ben replied. "Strength, Endurance and Agility."
"Dexterity, Focus, and Mind need experience so they take a lot more." Franco the butt of his cigarette to the ground and stepped on it. "Soul, on the other hand, can only be raised by assimilating AP."
"But... why?"
"Because you need Aether. Isn’t that obvious?"
Even though they put it in the simplest of terms, Mark still didn’t understand. Just yesterday he was told that he needs to train to raise his stats, and the day before he was told to not level up until he did so. Now he was being told sothing that contradicted both those claims.
"Aether is the elent of Existence. The elent of Souls."
As the confusion continued to dominate his thoughts, an even voice spoke up. He turned to its owner and saw Lara. The maid was just done disposing of another Exo-ape and was making her way back to his side, her expression showing no hint of emotion.
"By assimilating Aether, one’s Soul grows stronger, and so does one’s Existence. The only way to strengthen one’s Soul is to slay other living beings and absorb their Souls. That is how things have been since the beginning of ti, and that’s how they will remain until the very end."
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