Damn, I’ve gained more points in this single raid than I did in the three previous raids, plus from those rogue Hunters, combined.
And my current Power Level means that I’m now-...the highest Power Level a Q-Ranked Combatant can have is 250,000, and I’m not too far from that threshold, I’m within a stone’s throw of reaching K-Rank.
This is crazy, I can hardly believe it. At this rate, a few more Q-Rank raids and I’ll be-...
<I should remind you, after a certain point, your rate of growth will begin to slow down>
<If I had to estimate, until you reach a Power Level of approximately 400,000 to 450,000 or so, your current rate of growth through Devour and Drain should stay relatively constant>
<But after that, you will need to consume an increasingly large amount of Monsters and Mana to keep raising your stats>
Oh. Well, that’s kinda disappointing.
But I guess it makes sense, sounds like how you need larger amounts of XP to level up in video games the higher your level is.
<Yes, that is more or less accurate>
So, Ai, I have to ask...why is this the first I’m hearing of this? Would’ve been useful to know this before.
<...>
What?
<I have mentioned this before>
<I informed you of it during your first raid>
You did?
<Yes, I did>
<I believe your response was "Got it, I’ll keep that in mind">
<Evidently, you did not>
Oh. Okay, that is kinda ringing a bell. Sort of. To be fair, it was a long time ago.
<...>
<It has not even been a full year>
Well, yeah, but...that’s not an insignificant amount of time.
<Ah, I believe I am processing...frustration right now>
<Yes, I am frustrated>
<I do not like it>
<Please pay better attention in the future, it is quite inefficient to have to keep repeating myself>
Yeah...sorry, my bad. And hey, if nothing else, I’m pretty sure I won’t forget this again.
<Forgive me if I am a bit skeptical of that claim>
Fair.
"Okay, I think that should be enough of a break. Let’s continue on, unless anyone needs a bit more time?" Inquired Ariella, as she stood up and stretched her arms out.
"No, I’m good to go."
"Yeah, me too."
"Let’s finish this off."
I took a few steps ahead as we began to get back into formation, before turning to my left as Ariella walked over and poked my arm a couple of times, a perplexed look on her face.
"What’s up?" I asked her in bemusement.
"Have you-...? It’s weird, but your gear looks a tiny bit tighter than it did before. And something about you feels a bit...different," She mused uncertainly.
Huh? What’s she talking about?
<Your body grew very significantly stronger when you raised your stats during the break, the boosts to Strength and Vitality in particular have had a visible effect on your body>
<So, she is correct, your clothes are marginally tighter on you than they were before>
<And perhaps due to her high Perception, she is sensing the increase in your power, though it does not seem like she has realized exactly what it is that she is sensing>
Hm...with such a significant boost, and with how perceptive and observant she is, she’ll definitely be certain that I’m capable of getting stronger before much longer.
The next time I fight, she’s bound to notice.
And not just her, at least a few of the others, if not all of them, are likely to notice too, especially the two supervising Hunters.
Well, whatever.
This was always bound to happen sooner or later, I was never going to be able to hide this forever.
So, I won’t hold back and try to mask the fact that I’m stronger, this isn’t a situation I can afford to take lightly, anyway.
And besides, I can’t resist an opportunity to test out my latest gains.
"Uh, hello? You good?" Ariella waved her hand in front of my face, snapping me out of it.
"Huh? Yeah, uh...I’m good. Nothing to worry about. Let’s keep going," I replied with a smile.
She stared at me for a moment, before nodding and taking her place in the formation as the others gathered up too.
We made our way through the rest of the forty-first floor, before heading up to the next level as we reached the tunnel at the end of the floor.
Hm...it feels like the blaring of my passive lie detection is getting a bit stronger now. It’s been more or less at the same level this whole time, but it’s definitely intensifying a bit now.
"Okay, I sense them, there’s four of them, fifty meters ahead!" The Detector warned us.
"Good, we can definitely get through this floor without too much trouble. But don’t get too complacent, everyone, we can’t get careless," Instructed Ariella, as we continued forth at a steadier pace, before coming to a stop as the Monsters came into sight.
Once again, it was a pack of Lycanthropes.
The Attack Mages made the first move, unleashing a barrage of Spells to scatter the Monsters, before the Protector put up a barrier to block out the flames as the Lycanthropes fired at us.
Ariella swiftly shot towards one of them, the Monster snarling viciously as she closed in on it, before she ducked as it swiped its claws at her head, evading the slash before driving a fierce uppercut towards it.
Her fist collided against the bottom of its lower jaw with crushing force, knocking out a couple of its fangs before she slammed her foot onto the middle of its stomach with a quick chant, flames erupting out upon impact, sending the Monster hurtling back through the air as streaks of blood burst out of its mouth.
I raced forward as one of the Lycanthropes narrowed its eyes at me, sprinting across the sand towards it. Woah, I can feel it, I’m moving way faster than I did before!
"<Devour>," I chanted, as the Monster drove its claws towards me as it closed in, the dark, shadowy jaws manifesting and engulfing its forearm before its claws could reach me.
A sharp howl of pain rang out as the jaws of Devour snapped shut, tearing off the Lycanthrope’s right arm from around the elbow, blood spraying out of the stump left around it as I lunged forward and swung my blade across, slicing through its left shoulder and dragging across its skin and flesh, inflicting a deep, diagonal gash across its torso.
It roared in pain as I shot past it, before I swung my left arm back, and chanted as a couple of my fingertips came into contact with the back of the Monster’s head...
"<Mana Pulse>."