[Amelia] The Level Zero Hero Chapter 168 (Patreon)

Noele didn’t know what had happened. It didn’t happen fast, but it was so sudden. It was so shocking. She didn’t even register what had happened until a minute after it occurred. But even then, she still couldn’t process it.

It was too surreal to understand. It was something that was almost incomprehensible. Despite what had happened with Nicholas earlier today, he was still an S-ranked adventurer. There was no reason for him to ever attack her unprompted. There was no reason for him to ever stab her in the back.

He could have been a jerk. He could have been a manipulative liar. However, that was a far cry from being a murderer. Being rude and callous was entirely distinct from killing someone in cold blood for no reason whatsoever.

And yet, that was exactly what Nicholas tried to do. No— that was exactly what he was doing.

The Noble Spellsword couldn’t react. Her body was wrapped in a numbing pain. It no longer ached. And she could hardly even think.

If she was still cognizant of the world around her, she would have been furious about what happened. She would have no longer felt betrayed or hurt— instead, she would have retaliated in an instant. She would have struck the Noble Knight down where he stood for this outrageous sneak attack.

However, that was the problem. Noele couldn’t even feel any of that anymore. Her mind was filled with a jumble of muted thoughts— her feelings silenced by the blaring hole in her chest. She couldn’t see anything any longer. Her vision had gone blurry at first, then was slowly shadowed over. The last thing she saw was… a chicken? Perhaps she could have recognized the chicken if she wasn’t bleeding out. But at her current state, she couldn’t.

And now, all she saw was an encroaching darkness. A cold breeze swept over her body, even though it had been the middle of the day last she saw. Her mind instinctively reached for something to grasp onto— to stave away the eternal dark.

But Noele found nothing. Not in her memories. Not in her bonds with her friends. She couldn’t cling onto anything. Except…

Her body convulsed in the darkness as she felt something calling for her. It was warm— comforting. A strange sensation. However, it was also so familiar. Like the soothing voice of her mama. Like the gentle embrace of her papa.

Whatever this was, it pulled her mind closer towards it. And as she could slowly make sense of it, she realized… it wasn’t a voice like she thought. It was something else.

It was a light in the darkness.

She reached for it.

And a blue screen flashed in her mind.

[Class advancement available! Please choose one of the following Class advancements:

[Champion Spellsword] - A [Champion Spellsword] is a protector of justice…]

This is… the World System? Noele barely managed to muster out the thought. That was right. Even though her mind was in a haze, she still remembered that her powers were granted to her all thanks to the World System.

Her Class— the fact that she was Level 57. It allowed her to be an A-ranked adventurer. It allowed to protect those she cared about. The World System was what saved her when she needed saving. It offered her power when she needed it the most.

Without the World System, Noele was nothing. She knew that it was a fact. She knew that this had always been true. She could never achieve anything without the help of the World System… right?

For some reason, something felt off about that train of thought. However, she couldn’t exactly place her finger on what was amiss, and her near-death state was in no condition to think things through. She just knew that she could survive if she reached for this power.

If she accepted the World System’s offer, she would be able to get back to her feet, and she would be able to defeat Nicholas with ease. So as she lay there in the darkness, her mind still whirling, but trying to focus on the blue screen that was waiting for her.

I accept— she started.

But before she could fully wrap her thoughts around her new Class, she was interrupted by a heavy… thunk!

Her entire world shook. Her body reverberated in pain. It felt like she had just been dropped out of the sky, causing her back to break. It was such a sudden jolt of shock, it overwhelmed the numbing sensation of approaching death.

Unbeknownst to the blonde girl, she had been quite literally dropped out of the sky. She had crashed from hundreds of feet in the air, landing on a hard, icy ground alongside Bucky.

Although she didn’t realize all this was happening, it still nterrupted her thoughts. It broke her focus. And even in the darkness, her vision blurred once more. She tried to reach for the blue screen once more— in desperation, or compelled to by something else. But she couldn’t grasp it. It slipped out of her mind.

And slowly, Noele drifted further into darkness, now no longer just dying, but on the brink of death.

—--

Garron heard another explosion resound in the distance. He felt the prickling aura of the outpouring power of the Void. It was so familiar— so intense. A cold chill that made the hair on his back stand on end. It shook him to the very bone.

But even though he wanted to flee, he pressed on. He knew what he was getting into. He had already battled it once before. Or rather, he had tried to fight it. But he had only been able to watch from afar back then, needing to be saved by Amelia.

Unfortunately, this time, Amelia wasn’t here. So it was up to Garron to help stop Arthur.

He sprinted through the frozen trees, gritting his teeth. The Steel Tank really did like the bartender— unlike Noele, he held no animosity for what the former Lich King had done.

However, Garron had feared what could happen if the Lich King somehow did return. And now, it seemed like his worst nightmare was coming true. Fortunately, judging by the frozen landscape Arthur had created, he was significantly weaker than before.

But the problem was that he could grow stronger.

So Garron moved as fast as he could until he reached a clearing in the trees— the source of the overwhelming Void essence. He came to a halt right at the edge of a thicket of trees, spotting a gathering of figures already waiting there.

The first person he noticed was Nicholas and his team. The three S-ranked adventurers were standing just before Arthur, whose body was wreathed in a purple aura. Garron gritted his teeth, seeing that the worst had come to pass.

But before the Steel Tank could rush in, he paused when he heard an angry clucking. He looked to the side, and that was when his heart stopped. Lying there, just a few dozen feet from Arthur, was… Noele.

The blonde girl lay in a puddle of blood as Bucky stood protectively by her side. Garron needed a moment to process this sight. His lips quivered as he saw the pooling red liquid as he stood there, at a loss for words.

“What…?” He stared at the wound— at the hole in Noele’s chest. It was like she was stabbed through the back. And she was dying.

“Ack!” a scream broke the Steel Tank out of his stupor.

Garron glanced to the side, watching as Arthur was impaled through the chest by Nicholas. The Noble Knight had teleported straight to the former Lich King with some sort of Skill.

And Arthur was struck down. The purple aura dissipated. The last of the gathering Void essence was gone.

Nicholas pulled back, shaking his head. “That was close… he’s strong, but he doesn’t know how to control his power.”

“Good for us,” Kale snorted, before glancing at Garron. It was a strange look— almost threatening. It made the Steel Tank flinch. “So what do we do now?”

The Noble Knight took notice of Garron too. He just stepped forward, proffering a hand. “Do you have a healing potion?”

The Steel Tank blinked a few times, looking at the fallen former Lich King, then back towards the three S-ranks. He tried to work his jaw. “I-I… what happened?”

It was a simple question. Nicholas sighed as he strode forward, glancing towards Noele’s bleeding body. And Bucky continued clucking angrily there.

“I don’t know,” the Noble Knight said. “Somehow, the bartender was possessed by that strange power. And he attacked us all.”

Garron nodded slowly as he numbly reached for a healing potion from his bag. He walked up towards the Noble Knight, eyeing Arthur’s bleeding body. The former Lich King was taken down by a stab wound— through the chest.

“Do you have a healing potion?” Nicholas pressed the Steel Tank. “Otherwise, your friend will die if we don’t act soon.”

Bucky clucked loudly, but Garron barely heard it. He just produced the healing potion and slowly raised it as he looked back towards Noele. She was dying— not from a blast of lightning. But from a stab wound through the chest.

Nicholas accepted the healing potion with a smile. Garron stared at the Noble Knight— then he looked towards Kale and Sienna. Neither S-ranks wore even a hint of worry for Noele. They just eyed Garron like hawks.

“Thank you,” Nicholas said, before pausing. He frowned as he tried to take the healing potion, but the Steel Tank refused to let go. “What are you—”

And Garron punched the Noble Knight across the face as he bellowed, “[Knockback Blow]!”

Nicholas was sent flying back, even as he barely flinched in pain. Kale and Sienna reacted immediately. They pulled out their weapons, aiming for the Steel Tank. But Garron was already moving. He sprinted straight for Noele as Bucky waved her wings in the air.

“[Grand Fireball]!” Kale called out.

“[Arrow of Dawn],” Sienna whispered.

Both S-ranks unleashed their Skills at Garron as he ran for Noele. He glanced back, seeing a glinting bolt and a blazing sphere moving to intercept him— heading straight for the blonde girl’s bleeding body.

Garron gritted his teeth and tossed the healing potion at Bucky. The chicken blinked, watching as he spun around and raised his shield.

“Save her!” Garron screamed, turning to face the oncoming projectiles.

Bucky caught the healing potion and paused for a moment. She stared with wide eyes as Garron planted his feet on the ground, before raising his shield. His body shone with a brilliant white aura as he bellowed.

“[Lure Projectiles]!”

The [Grand Fireball] and the [Arrow of Dawn] swerved, redirecting away from Noele and towards the Steel Tank. He took in a deep breath, nodding at Bucky. The chicken hesitated, before uncorking the healing potion.

She began to pour the red liquid down Noele’s throat as Garron stood steadfast. His shield glimmered, before he activated all his defensive Skills at once.

“[Iron Will]! [The Guardian’s Protection]! [Aura of—”

And the Steel Tank was engulfed in a powerful explosion. His words were cut off— his body overcome by a searing pain. The barriers he had erected were instantly shattered. B-ranked Skills. No match for a single S-rank attack, let alone two.

Bucky looked away from the blast, refusing to see what happened. Was Garron still alive? She didn’t know. Instead, the chicken focused on pouring out the last of the healing potion, trying to save Noele.

And the blonde girl coughed as she lay there, her wounds slowly beginning to close.

—--

In the darkness, Noele felt her senses slowly returning to her. But she wasn’t returned to reality just yet. Instead, she continued to float in her mind, before seeing a blue light once again— the very same offer from the World System.

The offer to save her life.

To save her friends.

Author's Notes:

What thonk?

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