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The moment I turned my mind towards raising my maximum SP count, system lady dinged me in her typical, helpful fashion. Really, is there even a better system than her?

“Being a kind and thoughtful system, your system has one more service to recommend to our valued host. SP enhancement. SP enhancement is a service where your system directly increases your max SP, even without cultivation. The exchange rate is still 10:1. Call 1008 now to… Oops, wrong sales pitch… If our valued host wishes to employ this feature, our valued host merely has to deposit the required points.”

Me! Me! Me! I’ll take it!

I had 7509 points left, of which I immediately traded 6400 to raise my SP by 640. Including my original 60, my max SP had finally crossed the 700 mark!

Someone pinch me, I must be dreaming, my max SP has actually increased tenfold in just one day!

With anticipation in my heart, I summoned the Shadow Guardian first, then began reciting the chant to summon my Inferno Lion.

O Lion’s Majesty… By my command, bless thy emissary with new life… Come forth… burn all that stands before me to nothingness!

Instantly, I felt my newly enlarged SP pool drain out into the Epic-grade accessory on my left hand.

A gigantic vortex of fire began to swiftly coalesce in front of me. Then as if it was a giant dimensional door, a raging claw of fire dragged itself out of the vortex. Just from its thick, bulging muscles of fire, I could already tell this was a true monster to be reckoned.

Just its name alone was enough to conjure an image of a proud lion king.

Now, come on out, show me that proud lion face of yours! Hold on… where’s the mane?

A lion without a mane… isn’t that a lioness?

“Bingo, too bad there’s no prize for being right.”

But why did I end up summoning a lioness?

“Your system never said it would be a lion, right? Besides, what’s wrong with a lioness? Did that lioness steal your food? Did it steal your wifi? That lioness can help you fight just as well, you’re just being sexist!”

What do you mean sexist? That’s not even a human! Bah. Killing those zombies is more important. Those are walking, rotting sacs of points, right there!

The three fire elementals had been highly lethal, thus far. Every swipe they took, a point was banked. The Shadow Guardian was a lot less direct in its attacks, or perhaps unpredictable would be a better description. Its limbs would elongate and shorten. At times, it would grow wider and at times it would turn as thin as a needle. Regardless, those zombies did not stand a chance at all.

Yet neither of them displayed the same ferocity as my newly summoned lioness. With a flip of its maneless head, it sent forth a sea of flames at the zombies… Now that’s some efficient area-of-effect point farming!

More importantly, the sheer density of the zombie horde meant that I was in point heaven right now.

As always, fire magic had proven why it was the most destructive magic, whether it was its shocking firepower, or its overwhelming area of effect.

Every strike of the lioness carried with it unimaginable force. Like an endless machine gun, it tossed out spells that raked in points by the hundreds.

Watching it clear the field like that, I decided just to recall my Shadow Guardian. Why even bother wasting those precious points?

As I basked in the destructive glory of my lioness, I purchased a bottle of SP recovery and downed it like a soda. All I needed now was a cup of popcorn to complete the experience.

System, I have a question.

I thought summoning an inferno lion only required 500 SP? So why did I still get sucked dry, despite having 700 SP?

“500 is the minimum amount required to summon an inferno lion in its sealed up state. With our valued host’s current pool, there is nowhere enough SP to summon it out in its strongest form.”

Is that so? So how strong is it in its strongest form?

“Very.”

And how very is that very? Compared to a mobile armor?

“Valued host, as esteemed as you are, you shouldn’t compare your inferno lion to a mere toy like that.”

Toy?! They are extremely powerful, I’ll have you know!

“And those powerful machines were just toyed around with by a bunch of ghosts yesterday.”

I was promptly reminded of the scene of how those ghosts passed right through their armor to murder the pilots within.

That was just… an accident. Fine, they are toys then! But those ghosts clearly had the advantage there. If they were forewarned, those ghosts wouldn’t have been able to get away with such a daring attack!

“Perhaps. But even if ten of those machines were face off against your inferno lion in their strongest forms, they still wouldn’t stand a chance.”

That strong?

“Your system only recommends the best of the best. Oh valued host, you have no idea how many more interesting tools your system has in storage. You’d better prepare points while you can. Don’t come crying when you find yourself too poor.”

I will.

She was right. In order to afford the more powerful tools in the Marketplace, I had to accumulate more points.

With the aid of my summons, I easily cleared up the entire fifth floor of the park. In an avalanche of sudden wealth, my total point count rose to a staggering 89757, of which half was eaten up by my system in the name of repaying my debts…

Should I clear the remaining four floors as well?

Maybe not. It’s getting late now, and I should head back before the girls get worried.

I took the spiralling staircase upwards to find Ouyang and the others already waiting for me.

The lioness was the first to appear. When it broke surface for the first time, it roared into the skies, as if to celebrate the joy of being under the sun once more. Ouyang and the survivors, on the other hand, nearly jumped out of their skins.

“Don’t worry, that’s just my summon.” At the same time that Ouyang and his soldiers took aim at the lioness, I dashed out from behind her. “Don’t shoot, we’re on the same side.”

“Oh, it’s just Lady Mo Ke. Gave me a fright there… I thought it was some new monster.”

“ROAR!”

The lioness seemed to have understood his words. It glared at the man and growled, as if to show its displeasure.

“Sor-ry…”

Ouyang was quickly apologised and even lowered his head. Given how massive the lioness was, I didn’t blame him for being so submissive. But, honestly, it was kind of comical to see a manly man like him act so meekly.

Shameless Self-promotion

Announcement: I’ve re-opened my Patreon in case anyone wants to sponsor more chapters. Every end of the month, those chapters in early access will be released for free for all to read. If you sponsored a chapter, you will gain permanent early access to these chapters. Essentially, everyone gets more chapters to read, but those who donated get to read earlier. More chapters will then be translated at the start of the month. Explanation on the Patreon itself.

LINK HERE