I, on the other hand, now received four times the base experience points thanks to the combination of my Walking Egg skill and my new Dragon King skill. It made sense for my friends to be leveling up at a much slower rate than me, so this level increase was the best possible proof that Treant had risked its life fighting against Lilyxila’s army in the last battle.
‹Thank you again for all your hard work, Treant.› I lightly patted its trunk with my paw. ‹Your level’s gone up dramatically. You seem like an eternal worrywart, but underneath it all, you’re a pretty tough guy. Even I can see that. And I’m not just talking about stats either. You’ve got the passion in your heart to give everything you have when it counts. At this rate, you’ll be ready to evolve again in no time.›
‹Oh, Master…!› Treant’s trunk shuddered again.
“M-Master Dragon! My turn! My turn!” Allo shouted, throwing her hands up toward me.
‹A-all right, Allo. Let’s see here…›
Allo had already been a pretty high level before the fight. She would’ve needed a lot of experience points to go up even one or two levels from there. If Treant was the only one who stopped Aluanne, Allo might not have gone up many levels this time.
Name: Allo
Species: Levana Liche
Status: Cursed
Lv: 85/85 (MAX)
HP: 729/729
MP: 750/750
So Allo had gone up five levels during the fight with Lilyxila, from Lv: 80/85 to Lv: 85/85.
‹Oh! You’re at your max level!› Wow. I hadn’t expected five whole levels. But her magic was probably really useful against the Holy Knights. Maybe that’s where it’d all came from.
“Really? Yay! Praise me too, Master Dragon!”
‹Of course! Great work, Allo! You should be able to evolve now!›
Allo’s evolution cap had been removed thanks to my Demon King’s Blessing, which meant she should be able to evolve into an A-class monster now. Having another A-class monster in our party would give our strength a much-needed boost. And depending on the skills she learned, she might have a whole new battle strategy on her hands.
“I want head pats too! Pleaaaase! Like Treant!” Allo flapped her arms excitedly.
‹U-uh, you’re a little small for head pats, Allo… I feel like I’d crush you.› I extended a single digit of my paw toward Allo, keeping my claw bent toward myself. She moved forward to meet it with a proud but slightly embarrassed look on her face and closed her eyes.
‹When will I be able to evolve, Master?› Treant asked, looking wistfully at the two of us.
Aww. Maybe it was sad because Allo stole its thunder. Sorry, Treant… ‹Don’t worry! You should be able to evolve soon.›
‹But how soon is “soon”? After how many more battles?›
‹Well, I don’t know what the monsters here are like, so it’s a little tough to give a concrete answer…›
Once I’d calmed down the slightly sulky Treant, I decided to go ahead and evolve Allo.
‹Your level will drop for a while, though, which isn’t ideal for walking around in uncharted territory. Are you sure you want to do this?› I asked her.
She nodded vigorously. “Yes! I want to get stronger as fast as I can so I can help you, Master Dragon! Besides, I’m not worried! Not with you here to protect me!”
‹Yeah. You can count on me.› Allo deserved a reward for her unwavering trust in me. I wasn’t sure if we’d come across any suitable monsters for her to grind levels against here, but if it came down to it, I could animate some nearby objects as monsters with Fake Life and she could use those.
That said, monsters I made with Fake Life always felt like siblings of clay girl Allo and tree monster Treant. Creating creatures just to kill them was never a strategy I felt great about employing. If it meant keeping Allo and Treant safe, though, I couldn’t be choosy.
Allo was in her fifth evolution now. She’d gone from a rank F Wight, to a rank E Skull Low Mage, to a rank D Levana Mage, to a rank C+ Levana Low Liche, and she was now a rank B+ Levana Liche. Her next rank would likely be rank A—but probably not rank A+, unfortunately. There was a big stat difference between A and A+. It would’ve been nice if she could get an A+ rank here, but the chances of that were low. I’d seen far more regular rank A monsters in the world; A+ ones were few and far between.
I turned to face Allo. As a being born of Fake Life, I needed to cast Fake Life for her to evolve. Treant looked on worriedly, branches quivering, as Allo balled her hands into tight fists at her sides and closed her eyes.
“Grooooh!” I roared. Fake Life’s black tendrils shot toward Allo and curled around her. Then the black tendrils of light narrowed to points, spiraling around each other before drilling themselves into Allo’s chest.
I let out a gasp. This had never happened before.
The black light faded, and Allo opened her eyes.
They had changed color. Before, both Allo’s eyes were red, but now one eye shone a brilliant gold. Her clothes had changed too: She now wore a flowing black dress with an asymmetrical scarlet bodice.
Walpurgis: Rank A+. A monster known and feared as an undying witch. An eldritch being who will not die, even if decapitated or pierced through the heart. Said to be the queen of all liches who were given life through external means, she rules all corners of the world from the shadows.
A-a rank A+ monster?! That means she’s just one step below me! Once she levels up a bit, she’ll be stronger than Seraphim, Eldia, the Chaos Ooze…all those super powerful rank A monsters!
✦ ✦ ✦
