Somewhere in America, a man in his mid 40’s receives a system notification at the same time Aoi had returned from the dungeon.

You are now in second place on the leaderboard!

The bewildered and frustrated man opens the leaderboard and notices that someone named Psyche has surpassed him. The previous person in first place was at level 21. However, Psyche had managed to surpass him, Reaching level 40. For those who don't know it will seem as though Spyche had managed to level up over 20 times in one moment.

Back to Aoi* 

Congratulations you are the first person to have eliminated a B rank level Monster!

You will be awarded a bonus 15 stat points!

Aoi:

Title: Absolute creator

Stat power level: 215 (D rank)

Skill power level: 3000(S rank)

Total power level: 3215(S rank)

Level 40, exp 21%

Strength 15

Agility 24

Mana 18 - 71 (+19)

Intellect 18 - 70 (+23.5)

Endurance 20%

Skills:

Matter Manipulation - B rank, Proficiency: 7%

Unique skill — Adaptation/ Evolution — SSS rank

Raking - E rank, Proficiency: 76%

Jujitsu - E rank, Proficiency: 7%

Mix Martial Arts - E rank, proficiency: 22%

Duel wield - C rank, Proficiency:83%

Mana Slash - C rank, Proficiency: 11%

I turn around to make sure everyone is okay, Daiki and Aiko getting up. They both seem to be okay whereas Bee is still on the floor not moving. I make my way towards his stationary body. I arrive and kneel before him, placing my arm in front of his mouth. Looking for a breath making sure he was still breathing. I feel his warm breath on my forearm. He doesn't sustain any significant wounds except for the few bruises and cuts from falling. I open the system and monitor his status.

Bee:

Status: Coma

Remaining duration: 335 hours and 59 minutes

“He's still breathing and doesn't bear any major wounds. Let's head back to school and rest”

“Yes sir” answers Daiki and Aiko simultaneously, we make our way back on foot, approximately one hour goes by before we make it back. We head inside the grocery store and make our way to the office on the second floor. On the door to the office is a sign “Employee’s only” in black. We enter the room; I place Bee on the office table to get Aiko to mend his minor wounds. Both of them haven't said a word since I’ve returned.

*Despite having been saved by Aoi, Daiki and Aiko were frightened to ask or say anything. Both curious about Aoi’s sudden increase in power restrain themselves from asking questions. They were terrified of irritating him. Fearing his absolute power.

Aiko heals herself and Daiki as much as possible before going to bed. About 30 minutes go by, and I can't fall asleep, despite not having slept in over a day. I can't help but think about the inevitable fight that's to come with the imperial. While in the dungeon I could barely stay alive for 10 minutes. And now I need to try and beat it in real life. If the imperial had struck my head during the first attack I wouldn't have stood a chance; I would have died on the spot. The odds of winning this fight are unlikely but definitely higher than before. I could hold off the imperial for 10 minutes by myself, now that I'm no longer alone we definitely have a higher chance of winning. In the worst case scenario we can escape since the imperial doesn't seem to leave the nest it formed in the school. If it did, it would’ve come for us by now. Hence, we can assume that outside the school grounds we’re safe.

A few hours go by, and I manage to fall asleep. We wake up around noon and start to prepare for our long and unpleasant day. We make our way inside the school ground, an overwhelming and ominous pressure rushes to our chests. I swallow the enormous ball in my throat making a loud noise "gulp." We stop for a brief moment, surprised by the pressure before continuing our march. 

I'm first followed by Aiko and then Daiki, we left Bee in the office, since there’s still another 324 hours remaining. My plan is to beat the imperial and stay there till Bee wakes up from his coma. I can only hope everything goes as planned. Once we make it to the first entry at the back of the school where the school yard is located, we take a moment to prepare ourselves making sure everyone is ready before breaking in. Once we’re all ready I unlock the door from outside using matter manipulation. As soon as I take the first step inside the school, The pressure doubles, knocking Daiki and Aiko to the ground on one knee. Once they get used to the pressure, they stand back up, breaking a sweat. 

“You guys okay,” I ask, they nod and we make our way deeper inside the school, I can sense its mana. The imperial is located inside the cafeteria, we’re currently on the other side of the school, the cafeteria is located next to the main entrance of the school which is where the ideal location would be to fight. We make our way closer and closer to the monster until we come to a stop. The main entrance is right in front of us, once we take a right at the corner the imperial will be there waiting for us. I take a deep breath and exhale, the memory of Brad dying and getting overwhelmed with my previous fight comeback. I turn around.

“Are you guys ready,” I ask.

Despite obviously being nervous they have both come to the conclusion, we need to accomplish this to make progress. Therefore, they agree.

I crouch, gradually making my way to the corner, ready at any moment to withstand an attack.

The closer we get the heavier I breathe, my heart beating out of my chest I leap out prepared to spot my target.

 I made a mistake; I was overly confident the imperial was located at the cafeteria... This damned cunning beast, It was waiting for us.

“WATCH OUT!” screams Daiki, as I get hit from behind, flying through the walls. It moved behind me so fast that I couldn't see it move. Or was it all ready behind me? It's going the exact same way as it did before. A panic rises from within me, the site of Brad being plunged with a spear piercing his chest... We're fucked... A sudden notification appears before me…

 Danger, Danger… The target you are fighting is too strong, it is advised that you retreat!