Max wasn't bothered by the system's greediness this time. He subtly nodded his head to indicate that it could deduct the LPs.
He knew how serious his injuries were. If he had relied on only healing pills, it might have taken him days, if not weeks, to recover fully.
So, in his opinion, 5000 LPs in exchange of the instant recovery was an excellent deal. What 5000, even if the system had asked more, he wouldn't have batted an eye.
Amara sighed in relief and also felt guilty because, even though she didn't know why her father suddenly attacked him, she knew it must have been related to her. To prevent this from happening again, she stayed by Max's side, her body almost touching her.
In a secret room in the hall, Orlan had a shocked and surprised expression on his face as he watched Max stand up as if he wasn't injured at all. He murmured in disbelief, "How did he recover so quickly? Did I go easy on him and didn't injure him enough?"
Immediately, he shook his head. He had clearly used around 10% of his full power in that aura attack. Every three-star or even four-star demons would have been seriously injured. However, this puny two-star human didn't die but only got some injuries? How was that possible?
What he didn't know was that his aura attack was indeed strong enough to turn Max into a meat paste but just before it slammed into him, the system had formed an invisible barrier around him that reduced the attack's power by over 50%, saving him from the certain death.
If Max knew this, he would be surprised because the system only asked for the LPs to heal him, but not for the defence barrier.
'This human is not simple. Not only can he go in and out of the death-valley without dying, he is strong enough to stay alive after being hit by my attack and not mention his insane recovery speed. I need to pay attention to him.' He thought, his blood-red eyes flashing with a strange glint.
In the main hall, when Max stood up, Amara glanced at the end of the hall and said begrudgingly, "Father, please open the pathway to blood pool."
There was no response for a minute. Just when Amara started becoming anxious,
Rumble! Rumble!
The floor in the middle of the hall shifted and a black staircase that seemed to be carved out from a huge obsidian stone leading downwards appeared.
Amara finally sighed in relief, nodded toward Max before walking toward the staircase. Max didn't dare to put too much distance between them in case Orlan tried to attack him again. So, he immediately followed her to the staircase.
Just as he stepped on the staircase, he immediately felt a very strong demon energy surround him. His brows furrowed because this energy was quite uncomfortable.
Swoosh!
Just then, Amara waved her hand and a thin membrane of her demon energy surrounded him, preventing the staircase's energy from entering his body.
"Let's go. Follow closely behind me." She said before walking down step by step. Max nodded and followed her.
Tap! Tap! Tap!
With each step downward, the demon energy in the surroundings increased and pressured the demon energy membrane around him. From what it seemed, probably after a few more steps, this membrane would completely disintegrate.
Max glanced at Amara to see if she was also struggling. However, unlike him, she didn't seem uncomfortable at all, and there was even an expression of glee on her face.
Apparently, this demon energy was beneficial for her and wasn't pressuring her at all. From her expression, he could tell that if not for him, she might have charged down ages ago.
He smiled bitterly and shook his head. Since this was the case, he had to increase his speed, but to do that, he had to increase his defences to isolate the demon energy first.
Therefore, he circulated his mana and formed a protective barrier around him. However, in the next moment, it shattered into pieces.
Shatter!
The instant his mana barrier shattered, Amara noticed it. Just as she was about to use her demon energy to cast a stronger barrier around him, Max shook his head at her to stop her from doing so.
Sizzle! Sizzle!
After which, he circulated his mana and started casting his [Flame barrier]. A couple of seconds later, a crimson barrier appeared around him and started burning the demon energy.
"This…" Amara revealed a surprised expression. She couldn't believe a two-star mage was able to defend against the demon staircase's energy.
Boom!
Just as she was about to turn around and continue walking down the stairs, a boom sounded out and the demon energy around them increased by multiple folds.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Following the increase in energy concentration, she heard crackling sounds originating from Max's [Flame barrier].
"Oh, no." She became anxious. She could feel that the previously calm demon energy seemed to have become aggressive toward Max and his barrier wasn't able to endure it anymore. Therefore, she hurriedly conjured up a blood red bubble and sent it toward him.
Boom!
Just as the flame barrier shattered, the red blood covered Max, saving him from the blast of demon energy before bringing him to the end of the stairs.
Whoosh!
She landed beside him and dispelled the protective blob before worriedly asking, "M… are you alright?"
Max's face was pale and a trickle of blood was flowing down from the corner of his lips. Although she had saved him from the demon energy's attack, the shattering of his flame barrier had injured him.
"I'm alright but what was that?" He asked, looking up the jet-black staircase and the cloud of dark demon energy swirling above it.
He had used 1500 units of mana to cast the [Flame barrier] and he knew it was strong enough to defend against almost any attack of an early-stage three-star mage. However, this demon energy crushed it into pieces in an instant. If not for her quick reaction, even if he didn't die, he would have gotten serious injuries.
Amara didn't respond to him but looked worriedly toward the blood pool in the distance.
