Utopian System

Chapter 432 System's Rescue

"SHE'S ALIVE!" Aria's shout cut through the field of destruction. "AND THE TREE TOO!"

The others ran toward her. Amid so much loss, so much destruction, this small miracle, one life saving another life, shone like a beacon of hope.

"HERE!" Kriz's shout cut through the chaos. "There are more domes! The same pattern!"

Under the remains of what had been a family home, they found another defensive structure. It wasn't a simple dome either, but overlapping layers of metal and carbon, each one reinforcing the previous.

Brok moved the debris while Aria and Valeria worked together to open the layers. Inside they found three children huddled next to an elderly woman, who had maintained composure until seeing them arrive.

"We all... began practicing ways to make the houses resistant to outside control," she explained between tears of relief. "We practiced creating resistant layers every day. When the alarm sounded, I just... just tried to copy what I remembered."

The discovery unleashed a frantic search. Soon they found more domes, each unique in its construction but following the same basic principle.

"Here's another!" "This one has six people!" "I found a complete family!"

A young mother had protected her baby in a dome barely larger than herself. A teacher had managed to shelter five of his students.

"The girl with the tree," Lucien murmured, watching the rescues. "It wasn't luck. They all learned the same skill."

The domes kept appearing, each telling its own story of courage and resistance.

♢♢♢♢

In a meeting room, Lucien spread the reports across the table.

The numbers were devastating: of the more than ten thousand people who had been building a new life in the outskirts, two thousand hadn't made it.

"7,500 managed to enter the city when the alarms sounded," his voice was grave while sharing the details. "Another 500 survived thanks to different factors... improvised defenses, sufficient level to resist or fight until reinforcements arrived, or simple luck."

The silence that followed weighed like lead on those present.

"But there's something more urgent we must discuss," Lucien raised his gaze to the gathered group. "Something that can't leave this room."

Lila straightened in her seat, her eyes reddened but determined. Around her, familiar faces shared the same expression of resolution: Kriz and Brok, their usual jokes absent; Mei, more serious than ever; Valeria and Aria, exchanging worried looks; Milo, Kai and Nessa, all three showing maturity beyond their years; and Selene, whose presence had replaced Ren's.

"We can't keep Elio's absence secret for long," Lucien continued. "People will start asking questions."

"They already are," Nessa murmured. "In training, in patrols..."

"That's why we must act quickly," Lila leaned forward. "The plan is simple but dangerous. We need to level up, become stronger, and cross the rings until we reach him."

"It's practically impossible," Selene didn't try to soften her words. "Reaching level 100 without dying..."

The elephant in the room. No one wanted to say it out loud, but everyone was thinking it: how could they recover Elio? Would they even arrive in time to find him alive?

"It doesn't matter how difficult it is," Mei's voice cut through the doubt. "We can't simply abandon them."

"Ren wanted to come," Selene mentioned, "but we need him here just like Lucien. I'll go in his place."

"People also need hope," Brok added. "If they knew that Elio..."

Level 100

Skills:

??%?#??

Divine Cursed Soul (6/10)

Divine Elemental Magic

Tier 1 (Wind, Fire, Water and Ground)

Tier 2 (Thunder, Ice, Darkness, Light, Magma, Life)

Tier 3(Electroplasma, Caos, World Magic)

Chemical Magic (lvl 100)

Mana: 10,000/10,000

Resistance: 10,010,000/10,010,000

Stamina: 1000/1000

Attack: 10,000 (12,000)

Magic Damage: 10,000 (11,000)

Strength: 2000 (A)

Defense: 10,000(10,100)

Magic Defense: 10,000(10,110)

Speed: 2000

Perception / Agility: 25 (A)

God Elemental Weapon (100) / ((Attack 2000) (Magic Damage 1000))

Elemental Resistance Cape / Magic Defense 10

System's Armor 100 / ((Defense 100) (Magic Defense 100) (Magic Damage 100) (Resistance(10,000/10,000))

"Welcome to my boring home," she continued, gesturing toward the black walls. "My personal waiting room during these... how many have there been exactly? Well, several million years..." Her laughter had an edge that cut. "You lose count after a while."

She approached the statue, her fingers brushing the base with what seemed almost longing. "Beautiful, isn't it? The maximum prize for humans who manage to defeat me. A shame I can't use it myself."

Her eyes, now a supernatural blue that glowed in the dimness, found Elio's.

Elio tried to maintain a neutral expression, but something in his face must have betrayed him because Zala smiled, a smile that had nothing to do with Zara's warmth.