"I so love this skill!!" Mirabella jumped up in utter joy, her genuine excitement momentarily overriding her usual composure. Her action stunned Vinos, who was readying his attack, and the remaining bandits.
"Have you lost your brain due to fear?" Vinos asked with a frown, struggling to reconcile her casualness with the devastation she had caused.
"Oh? Have I lost my Brain?" Mirabella gave a devilish smirk, and in front of the stunned group, thousands of blood-red swords appeared all over the place, aiming at every living being.
"....?!!!!"
Everyone froze in utter terror. Vinos, who was controlling his ten spirit energy swords, stood frozen, trembling in fear.
'How could this be?!! Isn't this my skill?! Did she copy it? How is that even possible?!' He screamed inwardly. The realization of her terrifying, immediate adaptation ability shattered his confidence.
'I have reached Lv5 of this skill, but hers... Which she just copied is already Maxed at Lv10... How the hell is this possible?!! And so many?! How huge is her spirit energy?!!!'
{Tears of swords: Summon one sword with 10% of user's total spirit energy, swords deals 200% total magic damage to any target it made contact with. 1,000 spirit energy per use! Epic class skill.}
{Tears of swords: Maxed: Summon unlimited swords with 50% of user's total spirit energy, swords deals 200% total magic damage to any target it made contact with. No spirit energy needed because 50% spirit energy will be drained when arrows are more than 100. If it's below hundred, 20% of spirit energy will be used. Epic class skill.}
'Oh God. I love this skill.' She thought, her focus entirely on the system's confirmation. She pointed a finger at Vinos.
"I will spare your life if you don't interfere, now use your Devil Cult's special skill and get lost!!" She yelled. She didn't want him dead yet; she wanted his Legendary-class escape skill.
"This?"
Veer was stunned and screamed at Vinos: "Don't do it, Boss, she will copy the skill!! This lady is worse than the devil!!!" Veer, now entirely focused on her ability, had a clearer understanding of the threat.
Vinos gritted his teeth. He knew Veer was right. If he used the skill and escaped, the woman before him would surely copy it, creating a dangerous precedent.
'Wait!'
A small, cunning smile appeared on his face. He quickly dispelled his spirit energy swords and stared at Mirabella:
"If you think you're so great, attack me! I think all these are just illusions!!" He said, taking a massive risk by challenging her reality.
"....?!!"
"Huh?!"
Veer and Mirabella were both stunned—Mirabella by the challenge, and Veer by Vinos's perceived madness.
"You called these illusions?" Mirabella asked in surprise, deciding to play along and prove the point.
"Ok then... Die."
Mirabella snapped her fingers, and two swords shot towards Vinos, who quickly leaped back, creating distance. The swords smashed on his previous spot and turned into smoke.
'They are real! Ok... Time to get out of here!' He opened his mouth while still mid-air, and blew, instantly creating a thick, disorienting fog all over the place.
'Hahaha. If she can't see me using my skill, she can't copy it!' He thought, believing his clever tactics had worked.
Mirabella, Veer, and the remaining bandits watched as the fog cleared, revealing an empty space.
"I can't believe this! He used the fog to escape, now I can't copy his skill!" She yelled in frustration, showing a momentary lapse in control.
"Hahaha! Although the Boss abandoned us, I don't care, at least you didn't get everything!" Veer said with a pathetic laugh, clinging to his last sliver of spite.
'It is just bad luck--'
Mirabella froze as the system appeared before her.
{Two Skills Copied.}
'What the?! It seems nothing can escape the system's eyes!! So great! Show me!!' Her mood instantly skyrocketed.
{Skill: Godly Evasion: Legendary class skill.}
{Skill: Godly Evasion: when activated, gain complete immunity to all attacks for 30 seconds, which increases agility by 1,000. 10,000 Spirit energy per use. Legendary class skill.}
{Godly Evasion: Maxed: When activated, gain complete immunity to all attacks for five minutes, which increases agility by 5,000. 50,000 Spirit Energy per use. Legendary class skill.}
{Fog Lord: Create a fog by blowing out air, which covers 20 meters, and helps you teleport to your previous resting spot. Epic class, 5,000 Spirit Energy per use.}
{Fog Lord: Maxed; Create a fog by blowing out air, which covers 100 meters, and helps you teleport to your previous resting place and also blinding the enemies for 10 seconds. Epic class. 1,000 Spirit Energy per use.}
'Attack and retreat skills... Nice.'
{Relationship Alert.}
{Sword Empire: +1.}
{Dragon empire: +1.}
{Eagle empire: +1.}
{Devil cult: -10.}
'Huh? Seems Devil cult is truly the enemy of all empires. So who are the one supporting them in secret?' Mirabella thought, her mind instantly shifting to high-level political calculation.
'Anyway... I shouldn't use this skill in the open. The empires all know about this skill. If I use it, they'll simply mark me as a member of the Devil cult and I will become their enemy... That's not what I want, yet.' The skill was now a hidden ace, a secret she had to protect.
"Help!! Help us!!"
"Huh?"
Mirabella, Veer, and the rest of the kneeling bandits turned their heads to the inner side of the village, seeing Eve, her girls, and the villagers walking out, all in rags and bruises.
"Thank goodness you're here! Save us from these monsters!! They kidnapped my girls and the villagers, using us as sex slaves, please save us!!" Eve pleaded, collapsing onto her knees, her performance masterful.
"Huh?" Mirabella was dumbfounded, watching the unfolding drama.
"You snake!!" Veer snapped angrily, finally realizing the depth of her betrayal, but Eve turned to the people without letting him say another word.
"That is the evil man!! My people, come with me, deal with him!!"
She yelled, and before the dazed Mirabella, they picked up sticks, shovels, and even the weapons on the ground, and pounced on Veer. Mirabella watched with clinical interest as they stabbed and killed him on the spot, then killed the remaining surviving bandits.
After everything, Eve, the girls, and the villagers returned to Mirabella on their knees.
"Thank you savior, you saved our lives!!"
"We are grateful to you!!"
"We are grateful!"
"...?!"
Mirabella was utterly speechless, impressed by the flawless manipulation.
'Wow... This lady is good.' She thought with a nod. 'Come on, let's play along with her...'
Mirabella stepped forward and placed her hands on Eve's shoulders, helping the woman up.
"Don't worry, you are all save now... What is your name?" She asked, her tone shifting seamlessly into the role of the righteous hero.
"I am Eve, these are my girls. We are a low level guards, looking for ways to survive... We encountered them on the way, and he told us there was a good job, we followed them, unaware of their true plan."
Eve exhaled, calming herself: "They brought us into this village, and overpowered us, forcing themselves on my girls and the villagers, I was not even spared." She said, forcing out tears.
'Wow... She is good. Was she an actor on earth?' Mirabella thought, finding a strange kinship with Eve's strategic ruthlessness.
"Ok. I thought you were amongst these shameless bastards." She said in mock suspicion.
"No! No!! We will never!! You can ask the villagers, they are our witness!" She quickly yelled, gesturing to the villagers—men, women, and children—who were now entirely under Eve's direction.
Mirabella turned to the villagers, who hesitated for a moment, and nodded their heads, confirming the narrative.
"Yes. They helped release us." A kid said.
"Yes. They did." Another added.
Mirabella slowly sighed, and nodded her head: "Ok then... As long, you're all safe."
_
With a thought, Carl, Grace, and the others hiding outside the village instantly teleported, appearing behind her, stunning Eve, her girls, and the villagers. Mirabella's ease with high-level spatial manipulation underscored her dominance.
"How did we get here?!" Philip asked in shock.
Mirabella pointed at the items Veer dropped on the ground: "Check if your things are in here. Take it, and the rest belongs to me."
"Yes. Yes!" Philip and his guild members rushed to the items and started searching the pile.
"Thank you again, Senior." Grace said with a bright smile, her eyes shining with admiration.
"You know you can call me by my name, we aren't in school anymore." Mirabella pointed out, trying to lessen the formality.
"No... You are my senior, and you'll always remain my senior. I will find a way to pay you back one day." Grace said with a determined nod of her head, displaying fierce, unyielding loyalty.
Mirabella stared at her for some seconds, recognizing a valuable character trait, and finally nodded, accepting the title. She gestured to the dead bodies all over the place.
"Doesn't this scare you?" She asked in surprise, testing Grace's mental fortitude.
"Compared to the ones at school... This means nothing." Grace tucked a string of her black hair behind her ear, a confident smile on her face.
"I am not scared anymore." Her resilience had been forged by the harsh reality of Galaxy Fall.
"Guild leader, we got everything!" Philip yelled, cleaning his hand.
"Hey Grace... When the times come, go to the Dragon Empire." Mirabella whispered, sharing a single, cryptic piece of strategic advice, and ruffled the girl's hair.
"Take care, Little sister."
"Little sister?" Grace blinked, touched by the unexpected familial term, and instantly hugged Mirabella: "Thank you again, Senior, this means a lot." She separated, and turned to her people.
"Let's go back to Galaxy City." She instructed.
'Wasn't it just loots? Or is there something important about this mission?' Mirabella thought in confusion, noting the depth of Grace's gratitude.
'Now...'
She turned back to Eve and the villagers, her gaze fixed on the blonde-haired leader, the only other person in the village who understood the true nature of power.