I was now Level 19 and standing in the newly created Beast Zone, and I was immediately focused on optimizing my stats to match the escalating threats. As a Caster Type who relied on Orgone-fueled abilities and summons, the decision was strategic and clear. I would pour all thirteen AP points into the intelligence stat. I also noticed that my HP and Orgone pool grew each time I leveled up! This was a huge relief knowing that these two pools wouldn't be eating up my AP points.
I looked at my level 19 stats as Herja Read off each one with minor details.
Affinity Caster Type "Primed for Orgone-based damage and control."
Level 19 "Up from Level 6."
Health Points 31,700 "Significant durability increase after 13 level-ups."
Orgone 17,800 "Base Caster Pool."
Strength 8 "Untouched."
Agility 18 "Key for Evasion of physical attacks."
Intelligence 27 +13 AP investment; critical for Caster damage effectiveness.
Stamina 9 Untouched.
Attack Speed 135 Base speed.
Defense 120 Untouched.
Accuracy 250 'Key for debuff and physical attacks landing.
Resistance 95 "Key for evasion of debuffs."
"Estimated Battle Power 45,500. Adjusted EBP based on the finalized HP total."
"That's more like it!" I exclaimed, my initial shock at my own 31,700 HP giving way to a fierce grin as I looked toward Marla. Her new HP bar, displayed on my internal HUD, now read a massive 53,500. "Your nuke potential just went up, Marla. Way up," I stated, knowing her HP-based attacks were now exponentially more dangerous.
Before we could strategize on the remaining Silver Fleas, Mothman yelled from where he was taking a quick cigarette break, still nervously watching the global feed on his Z-phone.
"Ash, you gotta see this!"
Mothman came running over showing his Z-phone screen to me. The chaotic news footage of cities under siege had taken a dramatic turn: the monstrous threats—the Centipedes, the Squids, the Carcinians—were now under attack by something entirely unexpected: Native Beast crystal-bonded humans from those regions.
The video was from Tokyo. The sleek Silver Centipedes that had been scaling skyscrapers were being intercepted by a blur of focused, aggressive motion.
"There's a crazy winged Samurai Pixie blade girl taking on the silver centipedes in Tokyo!" Mothman shouted, a rare note of excitement in his voice.
Her figure was spectacular, she had wings and was covered in fire opal chrysalis armor, and she wielded a massive Masamune appeared to be formed from glistening, hyper-condensed She was a blur from building to building, her massive Masamune blade flashing. Where the Centipedes' metallic bodies had shrugged off military arms fire, the pixies Masamune blade sliced through them like paper, often cutting a creature completely in half mid-air. This wasn't just resistance; it was a targeted counter-offensive.
The world wasn't just a battlefield for the Lunar Cry anymore; the fight had suddenly gained allies, or perhaps, rivals. The emergence of the Beast Zones wasn't the only primal resurgence happening on Earth.
"Huh, guys, we made the news!" Felicity announced, leaning in to look at Mothman's Z-phone, her eyes wide.
The Tokyo Samurai footage immediately cut back to the live aerial view above Camelback Mountain. The screen filled with a chaotic mix of military gunships and civilian news choppers—all of which were now hovering directly overhead.
I casually walked over and looked over Felicity's shoulder at her own Z-phone. There it was: a high-definition, zoomed-in shot of our party, basking in the glow of the freshly formed Beast Zone. The camera operator was clearly focused on the massive, white strip of pulsing flora and the terrifying, colossal, bio-steel Hand protruding from the cavern entrance above.
The reporter's voice crackled with professional confusion: "Huh yeah, Dave, we don't quite know what this strip of white flesh is, nor do we have any idea about that huge silver hand on the peak! But we are getting word from the military to clear the air, but what for, when the entire world is going to hell anyway? Screw that we're sticking with this."
The camera then panned slightly, catching a full, clear shot of Ash standing next to the newly formed weaponized flora, his eyes glowing faintly with primal energy.
"Well, so much for discretion," I muttered, though a familiar, wild grin touched my face. We were no longer hidden. We were visible, globally broadcast, and now squarely in the military's crosshairs—or at least, in their field of inquiry.
The world knew something strange was happening on this mountain, and we were at the center of it.