Monsters.
They were absolutely everywhere.
Drooling, shrieking, squirming masses of mutated nightmares that looked like they crawled straight out of the bargain bin section of a horror game clearance sale.
And standing right in the middle of this clusterfuck of chaos was Aurelia.
She looked so ridiculously out of place it was borderline criminal.
Like some LV. 100 goddess had decided to cosplay as a swordswoman and absolutely demolish a horde of LV. 1 trash mobs for fun.
But Aurelia didn't just "stand" there like some statue.
She freaking radiated power.
Her cold blade was unsheathed and gleaming like it cost more than his entire life savings.
Her wings were fully spread like she was about to deliver divine judgment.
Those golden eyes were glowing with the kind of battle instinct that made professional gamers weep.
Nero, meanwhile, was planted five feet behind her, practically vibrating with nervous energy.
"Okay," he whispered to himself like a complete coward, "I'll just... cheer her on. From way back here. Actually, maybe even further back."
Then the first monster decided it was feeling suicidal.
Aurelia's perfect figure just... blurred.
*SHING!*
The creature got sliced mid-air like someone had just played the world's most violent game of fruit ninja.
One clean, radiant cut that looked like a laser beam made of pure "get rekt."
The cut was so perfectly straight it looked like someone had used a ruler.
"What the actual hell..." Nero blinked hard, swearing he saw that monster's corpse turn into perfect geometric cubes when all he witnessed was a single slash.
Another monster roared and charged from the side like it hadn't learned anything from its buddy's fate.
She pivoted with the grace of a ballet dancer.
*CLANG!*
Her blade met its claws, and the sheer force of impact sent shockwaves through the street that made car alarms go mental.
Then came the follow-up strike.
One swing.
*SLASH!*
Another body got turned into what looked like perfectly cut deli meat.
Nero had to do a double-take like his brain was glitching.
"She's not even using her special skills... That's just raw swordsmanship on steroids."
Actually, screw swordsmanship. This was just pure, unadulterated strength flexing on reality itself.
Three more monsters crawled out from a nearby alley, looking like nightmare fuel with jagged spines and eyes that glowed an eerie green like broken glow sticks.
Aurelia's wings flared open dramatically.
She shot forward faster than Nero's potato reflexes could even track.
*CLANG!*
*SLASH!*
*CRACK!*
It was like watching a ballet performance, except the dancers were getting absolutely murdered.
With the kind of aerial and ground maneuvers that belonged in highlight reels, these monsters didn't stand a snowball's chance in hell.
Aurelia danced through enemies like she was a divine blender set to "puree everything."
Her footwork was sharper than her blade.
Every movement flowed like water.
Sword arcs were so flawless they belonged in an art museum.
No wasted motion whatsoever.
No unnecessary flashy crap.
Just cold, angelic precision that aimed to delete enemies from existence without any hesitation.
Complete opposite of his comedic disaster of a performance earlier.
"She's a walking fucking highlight reel," Nero muttered, feeling both amazed and incredibly bitter about his own pathetic skills.
All of that destruction and she still hadn't activated a single special ability.
This was just her "default settings" running on easy mode.
Nero glanced down at his stat screen and let out the most defeated sigh.
He watched as the glowing blue numbers slowly shifted upward like the world's most generous participation trophy.
---
Name: Nero Walker (Jobless Degenerate)
Race: Human
Level: 3 → 6
Stats:
STR: 1.15/10 → 1.2/10
DEX: 0.95/10 → 1/10
INT: 1.2/10
VIT: 1.25/10 → 1.3/10
LUCK: 1/10 → 1.005/10
CHA: 0.8/10 (oof.)
Active Skills:
– [Empty]
Passive Skills:
– [Empty]
Unique Abilities:
– [Waifu Summoner (SSR)]
---
"Shared EXP is one hell of a drug... Holy shit, look at that! I gained a whole 0.005 points in luck... Probably because I have a literal angel protecting my worthless ass."
Then the ground started shaking like the world was having an earthquake-induced panic attack.
One of the nearby buildings cracked open like a giant egg that nobody asked for.
A massive monster, easily three stories tall, dragged itself out with claws like battering rams and a body built like a nightmare refrigerator with legs and anger management issues.
Its skin looked like armored crusty exoskeleton that had seen better decades.
Its mouth was basically a blender full of teeth that belonged in a dentist's worst nightmare.
"Oh great, another eldritch horror," Nero commented with all the enthusiasm of someone ordering plain toast.
The system in his vision decided to be helpful and pinged him.
---
[New Entity Detected
Name: Gorgmaw the Spite-Tank
Rank: C
Threat Level: High
Known For: Charging everything. Eating everything. Exploding when it dies. Yay.]
---
"Oh fantastic. A suicide boss monster. Just what this disaster needed."
Aurelia didn't even hesitate for half a second.
She stepped forward with that same calm confidence.
The giant beast let out a roar that probably violated several noise ordinances.
The shockwave cracked windows for three blocks.
Aurelia just narrowed her eyes like she was mildly inconvenienced.
Then finally, she spoke.
"Lord Nero," she said with that same calm tone, "please provide support."
"...I, uh, what now?"
She didn't bother explaining like he was supposed to read her mind.
She just launched herself forward like a radiant missile of death.
Straight toward the boss monster.
Sword ready. Wings flaring like she was about to deliver divine justice.
Everything was happening way too fast for his brain to process.
Nero's mind went completely blank, but somehow his body decided to be useful.
"Okay, okay, okay... what the hell am I supposed to do? Uhh..."
He frantically scanned the area like he was looking for cheat codes in real life.
That's when he spotted the stack of propane tanks near the completely wrecked diner.
He looked back at the beast.
It had charged about halfway to Aurelia.
She was sprinting forward like a radiant arrow aimed at its ugly face.
Nero immediately bolted toward those tanks like his life depended on it.
"Alright, big guy... you wanna explode when you die? Let's make this explosion a group activity."
He grabbed a burning piece of wood from a nearby fire that was having its own little apocalypse.
"Okay, timing... just like in video games. Wait for the boss to commit to the attack... and... NOW!"
He launched that burning stick like he was throwing the game-winning pitch.
It clattered against the propane tanks with the most satisfying metallic sound.
The monster was too focused on Aurelia to notice his brilliant tactical maneuver.
Until it was way too late to matter.
*BOOOOOOOM!*
The explosion absolutely rocked the entire block.
Fire and debris erupted behind the beast just as it raised its massive claw to pancake Aurelia.
The shockwave threw it completely off balance.
Its death swing faltered like a drunk person trying to walk a straight line.
And Aurelia used that perfect opening to deliver divine judgment.
Her blade pulsed with silver light that made his eyes water.
"Light's Wrath."
She whispered it so softly, and then...
*SHWOOOM!*
*SLASH!*
She sliced upward in one clean motion through the monster's neck.
The attack was so fast it looked like a flash of light that nobody else could see.
Too quick for the opponent to even register what was happening.
The head went flying like the world's most disgusting rocket.
The massive body crashed to the ground hard enough to make the earth tremble.
It was absolutely worthy of the skill name, considering this eldritch nightmare got turned into a useless pile of meat in under a second.
Dead silence.
Then... the crowd of lesser monsters started hissing like angry cats.
Aurelia turned to face them with that same cold expression, her sword now glowing faintly with leftover divine energy.
"I shall handle the remainder."
Nero stood behind her, brushing thick dust off his clothes like he'd been through a construction site explosion.
"...You're welcome for that explosion assist," he muttered under his breath.
But somehow she heard him anyway.
She gave the tiniest nod with just a hint of a smile breaking through her otherwise stone-cold expression.
"Your timing was most precise, Lord Nero. I am grateful for your support."
Nero blinked like his brain had to restart.
A compliment.
From the celestial powerhouse who could probably solo this entire apocalypse.
He couldn't help but chuckle.
"Cool, cool, cool... let's never do something that insane again."
The remaining monsters started circling them like vultures that had watched too many horror movies.
Aurelia stepped forward, raising her blade once more with the confidence of someone who'd done this dance a thousand times.
Her golden eyes gleamed with anticipation.
"This shall be swift."
And just as she was about to engage in more monster-slicing therapy...
*RUMBLE!!*
The earth started quaking like it was having a seizure.
A vortex of black mist erupted from the ground ahead, looking like someone had just opened the express lane to hell.
The monsters nearby got instantly incinerated into ash like they'd never existed.
From that swirling nightmare... a new figure emerged.
Tall as a basketball player.
Dark as his future prospects.
And smiling like they knew something everyone else didn't.
They wore a crimson robe covered in arcane symbols that probably meant "I'm definitely the bad guy," and had eyes that gleamed red like a demon's mood lighting.
Nero, being the perceptive genius he was, immediately noticed something was off.
'This guy's definitely a serial killer.'
The bloodstains covering their clothes were basically a neon sign that screamed "I murder people for fun."
It didn't need to be said that not everyone stayed morally sane during a crisis like this.
Some psychopaths would take advantage of the chaos and commit the kind of atrocities that made the news.
"You're quite the interesting duo," the creepy figure said with a voice smoother than expensive whiskey. "I wonder how long you'll last against someone like me."
This person was definitely that type of unhinged lunatic.
Both Nero and Aurelia turned to face this new threat.
The monster-slaying session was officially on pause.
A new challenger had just entered the chat, and they looked like bad news wrapped in worse intentions.
***
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