Antagonist Protection Service

In fact, I had two vacant slots, so theoretically I could assign one to both of them.

...Well, I was in a little bit of a rush at the moment, but maybe I'll consider it after this total mess is sorted out.

With that in mind. Skills.

What I really wanted to do right now more than anything else was upgrade Divine Blood and Mana Corruption to their limits. I had more than enough World Stability, the only issue was that I doubted my body's capacity to physically handle it.

As was evident by my Status, I had already attained an astonishing amount of magic energy. My body felt pretty okay right now, but if I increased it to the next level, and then added all my divine energy onto that and levelled that up multiple times too... I wasn't sure if I was currently capable of handling the aftermath.

In fact, I already got a glimpse of it when I used all my energy to empower Fractured Thule―my body turned almost entirely stiff while channeling, and upon releasing it, I was completely paralysed and unable to move at all for a long time.

"Gah, it really would be great if I could get them levelled up, though..."

At the end of the day, I suppose it was a matter of risk vs reward.

Frankly, the risk was as high as death―If I used a lot of energy and put strain on my comparatively severely underpowered body, which was my current bottleneck, the same thing would happen as before and I would quickly die, assuming I didn't use so much energy that I accidentally killed myself first.

Meanwhile, the potential reward was just a matter of increasing my strength even further.

I was already confident that I was leagues above any Awakened on Earth in the first place, even the most hardened Frontliners, and so taking the risk shouldn't be necessary.

And, if that is what it was, then there were plenty of other ways I could substitute that sort of raw power for growth in other ways.

In that regard, Sneak likely wouldn't be particularly useful this time, considering my role would be to halt the advance of all those Awakened head-on, and the same went for Lockpicking. Illusory Aegis was something I could use, but there were also a number of alternatives that might better suit the situation.

There were no Items that were on my radar for immediate purchase, be it weapons, armour, or anything else, and the only ordinary Skill or Trait I could make a case for was Weapon Master, but even that didn't seem to stick out as something crazy...

"In the end, it's really just kinda screwed because of my weak body..."

Circling around to leave only the Service Charge abilities as worthwhile candidates.

Would they be enough?

In the end―

"...Fuck it."

Skill purchased

Trait purchased

―――I did it.

Just like that, an entire ten thousand World Stability had vanished from my balance, leaving me with just enough to level them up and even purchase a third if I felt like it.

Of course, this wasn't a choice made in haste. I thought about all my options deeply, considered all the potential positives and negatives, and came to a conclusion I felt would leave the lowest probability of regret.

The result was thus.

[Tyranny of the Demon Lord] added to Status

[Thick Skin of the Void] added to Status

Fortunately, I felt no difference physically following the purchase, meaning my skin hadn't literally transformed into something disgusting, like half of the Gravetender's body. I trusted in the description of the effect only mentioning gaining resilience, and luckily, that was right.

Incidentally, there wasn't much to explain regarding that purchase―I simply thought it would be beneficial to ensure I had a comfortable level of defence.

As for the Skill, Tyranny of the Demon Lord... It was a harder decision, but I went with it after reading the description a few times over.

However, to make sure I was absolutely correct in my decision, there was one thing remaining.

[Tyranny of the Demon Lord] levelled up

[Tyranny of the Demon Lord] levelled up

[Tyranny of the Demon Lord] has reached the Maximum Level

Spending two thousand Units, I quickly maxed it out.

"There, now how is that... Oh! Yeah, that looks great."

Skill - [Tyranny of the Demon Lord] (Active)

The Demon Lord is an eternally feared being, and was always intended to be so.

Destined by his dominion, subjects are never to usurp or revolt.

Once upon a time, indeed they tried, and never again. The more unruly the subjects became, the Lord's tyranny could only grow in proportion, to an unimaginable degree.

After all, a true Lord would never fall to a mere gathering of minions.

(Manifests the Demon Lord's Aura of Tyranny)

Level 1 - Manifests an Aura of Tyranny that oppresses enemies and saps strength.

Level 2 - Aura of Tyranny is enhanced and oppression inflicts minor spiritual damage.

Level 3 - Aura of Tyranny is further enhanced and absorbs the oppressed's strength.

Reading over the description one last time, I nodded.

'That'll definitely do well against a horde.'

Another big reason I decided to go with this Skill over any of the others was because it seemed easy to use, and it looked like that would remain true even at max rank―Just turn it on and the fight becomes easier, right?

On the other hand, something like Fog of Lies may require me to split my attention on thinking about what illusions to show the enemy, not only distracting me but dropping efficacy in the process.

Satisfied, I closed the window, returning to the Status.

I had 5,300 World Stability remaining, meaning I could easily purchase another Service Charge ability, but there weren't any I considered reliable enough for this time, mainly because most of the stuff there was too vague in its description for me to understand the effect, even if they were objectively powerful.

That's why I decided to do as I initially planned and assure maximum 'quality' first and foremost.

[Illusory Aegis] levelled up

[Illusory Aegis] levelled up

[Illusory Aegis] levelled up

[Illusory Aegis] has reached the Maximum Level

Skill - [Illusory Aegis] (Level 5) (Active)

By the will of the Spirit of the Illusory Library, you have been given permission to borrow a technique of the Antagonist Protection Service designed to save lives.

Using this technique, may you protect many more Antagonists to come.

Your proficiency with the Aegis has surpassed legends.

(Summons an Illusory Aegis)

Level 1 - You can use your magic energy to summon an Illusory Aegis.

Level 2 - The magical efficiency of the Aegis is drastically increased.

Level 3 - Illusory Aegis can be shaped to your will. Gains resistance to Protagonists.

Level 4 - Further enhancements to all aspects. Gains resistance to demonic attacks.

Level 5 - Pinnacle magical efficiency. Gains resistance to divine attacks.

With 2,300 World Stability left over, my options now were limited.

Assuming Level 5 was the limit for all basic Skills, I could use it to max out Sneak, although I wasn't sure how useful that would be for combat.

Other than that, stocking up on Consumables like Health or Mana Potions could be smart. In that case, I would have to go with the latter since I already had plenty of healing resources accumulated from clearing the Tower.

'I only have one Standard Mana Potion. It's hard to estimate how long this will take, so I guess I should just do that... Then again, will I even have the luxury to spend time drinking a potion?'

"Enki! I have a suggestion!"

Intervening with her raised voice, the Librarian, who I had momentarily forgotten was even present, suddenly proposed something.

"I found something that can make your body strong after all!"

"...Aren't you a bit late?"

If I had known that, I wouldn't have spent everything so hurriedly...