Scarlet

First I go ahead and bring blood armor to level 5, since all it takes is 18 SP to do so. Then I focus on the others before eventually deciding to raise blood boil a couple of levels to level 8, just because it was one of my very first purchased skills, and it really does come in handy.

Which leaves me with a single Skill Point remaining. Not something I can do anything with.

So I close my status and focus on listening to the neighboring floors, checking to see what the demons are doing.

Just from a brief listen, I don’t hear anything too dangerous on the several floors above and below me. Mostly just fomorians and acolytes, with the occasional wraith. Although I do hear what sounds like a berserker about five floors down.

A place I am very glad is far away.

Berserkers are also one of the few demons that attack other demons in Fractures, since they don’t listen to the orders of their commander. Which generally leads to a demon ranging between levels like 160 all the way to 200 or so rampaging about killing everything that moves.

Not a place I want to be anywhere near.

My ears suddenly pick up on what sounds like some sort of portal opening and closing, making me realize that there’s a summoner on the floor about four floors beneath me as well that I’d missed.

Yeah, rather avoid that place too.

The summoners are even higher leveled than the berserkers on average. Just that they aren’t as strong as them physically or magically and need a bunch of defenders – Class II versions of knights – to cover them, which basically makes them the Class II versions of breeders. Just much more pleasant to look at and with a different method of getting reinforcements.

And, well, intelligent.

But why aren’t any demons entering this floor? I hear some occasionally stepping in the direction of this floor, only to turn around rather abruptly. Kind of like something’s frightening them off.

What though? There aren’t any demons on this floor…

Tar? Do you know what’s going on?

He doesn’t respond.

I wait for several more seconds, only to sigh.

At least I know that when he doesn’t respond, it’s generally a yes. Meaning something fishy is going on here.

I was kind of wondering why something always happens in the Fractures that I’m in that is generally uncommon. Like variants showing up, knights appearing in random locations, wraiths ignoring prey to target me, and so on.

Is there a Guardian targeting me through demons? But why? I haven’t done anything, unless they know about me being a demon?

Actually, if they knew about that and were strong enough to manipulate the demons in the Fractures, why wouldn’t they just kill me? And why would they protect this floor from the demons if they wanted to kill me?

Are they just trying to get me to grow stronger or something?

I let out a groan as I slowly lower myself to lie on the floor with the girl still on top of me.

Everything’s kind of been crazy ever since I contracted though. Right Tar?

“Yeah,” he answers. “You may just be one of the fastest leveling Guardians on Earth.”

Yep.

“Mostly because you keep putting yourself at risk,” he adds while floating down and lying with his head on my arm. “Although you will probably slow down in leveling after reaching Class II or III.”

Right. Ignoring that part about me putting myself at risk, there are fewer and fewer Fractures for each Class. So it gets a lot harder to get EXP. Especially when Guardians reach Class III and Class IV, where most Demonic Assaults don’t have Class IV Fractures, and a lot of them don’t have Class III Fractures.

Kind of a depressing thought to know that my leveling speed will slow down.

But at the same time, for my leveling speed to continue as it is, the world would have to have a lot more Class III and IV Fractures. Which would probably mean the end of the world.

So it’s for the best.

I look down as Aria shifts slightly, resting her head on my chest as a faint smile appears on her face and she mumbles a little bit in her sleep.

She’s adorable.

And she’s also a lot less heavy than I would’ve expected, considering how long she’s been lying there. But I think it’s been long enough, so I gently pick her up and begin walking back to the recording studio we were in before. Because this one doesn’t have any nice chairs to sit on.

As I’m walking past the stairs though, I can’t help but stop and stare at them.

Maybe…

“I know you’re there. So just come out,” I call out with a stern tone of voice, hoping that maybe something will just pop out like they do in the movies. But nothing ever happens, leaving me just standing there talking to myself like an idiot.

So I shrug and continue walking down the hall towards the recording studio.

Was worth a shot.

Once I reach the recording studio again, I gently place the girl on the chair, slightly surprised that I didn’t wake her up at all during this entire trip. Considering how she woke up just from me moving earlier, the first time she fell asleep on me.

“She used a lot of mana to save you,” Tar says, supplying me with the answer.

Oh.

I can’t help but smile as I reach out and brush a lock of hair from the girl’s face, still slightly surprised by how open to physical contact I am with her.

Maybe she can get me used to it?

Actually, why am I so open to physical contact with the kid? Physical contact usually makes me feel kind of like worms are crawling underneath my skin or something whenever someone touches me.

A very unpleasant feeling.

But with her I just kind of forget about that entirely until the contact extends for too long and I have to push her away.

Tar doesn’t say anything in response, making my eyes narrow.

Do you know the answer? Or are you just staying quiet because you don’t know what to say?

“I’ll just say that there’s a reason for it and leave it at that,” Tar answers, practically shocking me in the process.

You can actually answer that?!

“In a roundabout way,” Tar says, once again landing on my shoulder. “I can’t directly answer you, but I can say that now that you’re close to Class II. Actually, a lot more will be revealed once you reach Class II.”

Class II, huh?

I’ll be waiting then.