Chương 709: The Storm Archangel

Enormous fish surged between the submerged buildings, carving through the water like starving monsters. Whenever Luke broke the surface, he leapt from one structure to the next, plunged back under, and struck with clean precision, killing anything that got too close. In the middle of the school, one of them was a bigger problem. A Lantern Fish, larger than the others, twisted its body and spat a rapid burst of compressed water bullets.

Luke barely dodged, feeling the pressure of the shots tear through the water around him. Instead of retreating, he sank deeper, kicked off with the boost from his boots, and closed the distance to the creature. His blade found the weak point. [You have slain a Deepglow - Lvl 110] 6, 003, 801 EP earned Your class [Shadow Phantom Reaper] has reached Level 106!

(+30 Lethality, +24 Agility, +23 Perception, +22 Intelligence, +18 Wisdom, +13 Willpower, +10 Dexterity, +20 Free Points) The other fish reacted to the blood in the water and swarmed him, trying to devour him. Luke swam upward with all his strength, triggered his boots' power, and launched himself out of the water, landing on his feet atop the slanted roof of a half-flooded building.

"Now," he said. A spear wreathed in electricity dropped from above and pierced the ocean's surface. The discharge exploded outward in every direction, blue-white and violent, lighting up the dark water for an instant. The fish convulsed, locked in place by the current. Luke didn't waste it. He dove back in and started killing them one by one while Angie called the spear back to her hand and threw it again, repeating the attack until the last monster finally stopped moving.

Angie's Class [Storm Valkyrie] reached Level 105! [Angie has reached Level 105! Archangel (Rank D)] (+16 to all stats, +40 Free Points.) Angie descended from the sky, wings beating. Her long red hair swayed in the wet wind, and somehow, her presence seemed even more unreal than before. She no longer had two wings. Four wings spread open behind her. She had reached Rank D while completing her own Beacon. And with that, she was no longer just an Angel. Now, Angie was an Archangel.

"Nice work," Luke said. Angie landed beside him and gave a slight bow.

"Thank you, my lord." The electrical power behind her attacks had gotten a serious upgrade since she became a [Storm Valkyrie]. Before, it had been useful enough. Now it was starting to feel straight-up unfair.

"Feels good to be back," Luke muttered. Three days had passed since he reunited with Angie and Charlie. The original plan had been to meet them again at the Citadel, but the city, no, the Main Island itself, had changed drastically. Since the start of Stage 3, the sea had risen and swallowed a good chunk of everything. Streets, houses, and entire structures now rested beneath the water. Even so, Luke had found them in the end. He had also managed to grab the Soul Fragment from some random survivor in the city.

"I'll get the cores for you," Angie said. Before Luke could refuse, she had already taken off. The extra pair of wings made her much faster than before. [Archangel]: A nearly extinct race in the multiverse, present since the oldest foundations of the System, long before the selection of the 51st and the creation of the Second Universe. Revered for their overwhelming beauty and absolute power, angels feel neither pity nor compassion for any life beyond themselves or the one they choose to serve.

Obsessed with their own existence, they rarely form bonds. But when they do, that bond has a terrifying permanence. Once an angel fixes on someone or something, they never let go. Even so, there are no confirmed records of anyone who has truly earned an angel's love. This Angel has now become an Archangel, proof that her soul is powerful enough to evolve. Not every member of this race can evolve along with their Rank. She is no longer an ordinary angel, but the remnant of a being superior even among her own kind.

Her devotion to what she serves is immense, because only those who serve something greater than themselves are willing to break past the limits of their own existence. Attributes per Level (Rank D): +16 to all attributes, +40 Free Points. It still shocks me every time I see how busted her attribute bonuses are. The two of them collected the fish cores. In total, there were only two. Luke touched them and absorbed the energy.

[You absorbed a Rank D Core] Rank D Cores: [141/1000] [You absorbed a Rank D Core] Rank D Cores: [142/1000]"You girls helping with this is speeding things up a lot."

"I probably missed a lot of cores because I was rushing," Angie said.

"What you brought already helped a ton. Every core I absorb makes my beast stronger in mana, stamina, and even the energy it needs to stay active." The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. During their own journeys, Charlie and Angie had collected cores for him.

"I'm heading back to the ship. See you there, Angie." He stepped onto a [Teleportation Pentagram] and disappeared. Two weeks passed after Luke's return. Anne was not sailing in a hurry. At that point, all they had to do was wait for time to pass, explore what remained of Sunken Realms, and gain a few levels along the way.

Stage 3: The Expedition Humans already integrated into the System, belonging to the 51%, below Rank C, and having survived Stage 2 after completing the 6 required Beacons, have been left on the planet to compete for victory in Stage 3. Only one participant in each Region of Sunken Realms will be able to claim victory. For two months, the ocean will undergo severe changes. The waters will rise considerably due to the melting of the planet's frozen region, where the humans above Rank C are located.

This process is a consequence of the challenge those humans must face. Until the process ends, you may rest, explore the remaining areas of Sunken Realms in search of treasure and equipment, hunt beasts while pushing your limits, or simply do nothing. At the end of the two months, you will be notified when a new area emerges. You must go there to begin the final Expedition. Only one of you will win the event and prove worthy of becoming a legend of Sunken Realms. Good luck to all.

Luke closed the notifications and started getting dressed. Charlie had already left the room that morning. He'd overslept. Earth must be losing its collective mind right now. Most of the event's participants had returned at the end of Stage 2. Luke had left Zoe in the city of Cadmus, where she stayed until she was teleported back to Earth. But not before revealing important information about Maxwell. That Hero has some kind of power that makes him stronger when he's near his assistants.

Very different from Serena, who works alone. Seems like a direct reference to the heroic titles they carry. Luke kept thinking about the heroes' system. Maxwell wasn't called the Flame Hero for no reason. He had earned it through a Title, and that Title allowed him to gift a certain number of people a class called [Assistant of the Flame Hero]. But it didn't work on just anyone. The target had to be level 50 in their class, right at the point where they would choose an evolution.

Then Maxwell would add a new option to that person's system: become his assistant. The concept was simple, and annoyingly on-theme for fire. If his assistants stayed close to Maxwell, he became much stronger. Like a bonfire fed by branches. That's why he wanted to know who killed his assistants during the Battle Royale. And that's why he got pissed when I killed the people on his ship. By accident, I'd basically nerfed the guy. From what Zoe had explained, finding another assistant wasn't that easy.

There was a limited number of slots, the person had to not have chosen their level 50 class yet, and above all, they had to be someone Maxwell trusted. After all, they would have to stay near him for the rest of their lives and follow him into battle. Serena is the Heroine of Light, and light shines on its own. So she doesn't need assistants. But it sounds like she gets weaker at night. She only really gets strong under sunlight. Interesting.

With that information, Luke intended to try to figure out how each hero's title power worked. It wasn't urgent, but knowing how his enemies breathed, fought, and grew stronger always helped when it was time to rip that breath out of their lungs. As he ate breakfast, he kept wondering how things were going on New Earth. Part of him was calm about his family's safety. The Baummans had returned to Maine when they left the event and should have reappeared at home, alongside Evangeline, Eleanor, and Jack.

Even if Eleanor and Jack left to search for their own families, Luke knew the ninja woman would stay with the Baummans to protect them. Technically, she didn't have anywhere else to go anyway. Zoe knows I'm alive and might tell Maxwell to try to get her job back. But you know what? I should be the least of their problems. New Earth is going to be a challenge for everyone.

"Good morning... Lord Luke."

"Morning, Anne."

"You woke up late."

"Yeah. I did." Charlie had gone to explore ruins with Angie, which left Luke practically alone on the ship with Anne.

"Want to go swimming with me?" he asked.

"Swimming...?"

"Anne, put on your swimsuit!" Artemis said. What started as a hunt turned into something closer to an outing. Luke and Anne, riding his sea beast, dove into the ocean and descended deeper and deeper, cutting through the blue darkness between ruins, coral, and structures overrun by marine creatures.

"This place is the Phase 2 area, Anne," Luke said through his [Abyssal Mask], which let him speak underwater.

"Those craters over there are the entrances to the deep city where we found the Beacon." They kept hunting beasts along the way. At one point, they spotted several pink jellyfish floating in the dark. Their translucent bodies glowed like living lanterns, pulsing slowly in the gloom. Anne pointed at one of them.

"Good work." Because the jellyfish bodies were almost transparent, they could tell which ones had cores. The two of them hunted them one by one, without wasting time on the useless ones. Afterward, they climbed onto the flying fish mount. The creature shot toward the surface and burst out of the water, slicing through the waves before gliding above the sea for a few seconds.

"Fun!" Anne said, beaming. She sat behind Luke, holding on tight.

"It's like riding a motorcycle, Anne."

"Motorcycle...?"

"Sometimes I forget you didn't live in modern society. When we get back to Earth, I'll show you one." Luke thought for a moment, then grimaced slightly.

"But... now that I think about it, motorcycles might not even work anymore. They'll probably be ruined by the time we get back."

"I know... how to ride a horse."

"I don't know how to ride a horse. You're way more prepared than me. You can even sail."

"I can teach you... My home has a... riding field. For horses."

"Your home is a castle, right?"

"Yes..."

"Good thing I have rich friends. I'm broke now, Anne. Completely bankrupt."

"I have money..."

"I'm kidding, Anne. I'm not asking." Luke glanced back over his shoulder, curious.

"But just out of curiosity, how much money do you have?"

"A lot."

"On a scale from collector's edition DeLoreans to actual lightsabers used in the movies, how many are we talking?" Anne went quiet for a moment.

"What is... a DeLorean?"

"Anne, we have a lot to talk about." When they reached the ship's deck, Luke placed ten cores on the floor and touched the first one. [You absorbed a Rank D Core] Rank D Cores: [193/1000] I'll hit two hundred easy. Charlie and Angie will probably come back with more cores. At this rate, I might reach three hundred before the waiting period ends.

"How does it feel to build your entire career on exploiting women?" Artemis asked in his mind. You're looking at it wrong. They're so strong they're basically carrying me. [You absorbed a Rank D Core] Rank D Cores: [194/1000] [You absorbed a Rank D Core] Rank D Cores: [195/1000]... [You absorbed a Rank D Core] Rank D Cores: [199/1000] [You absorbed a Rank D Core] Rank D Cores: [200/1000] A burning sensation spread through Luke's body. [Your Spectral Beast Core has unlocked a new skill] Luke smiled.

Then he absorbed the rest.