Riches and Bitches: I have a gate to an isekai and leveling-up system!

With Fay's domain collapsing, I was now free to witness the last moments of the night.

Ever since the battle with the imperial reinforcements began, quite a lot of things have happened. And now, it was only a few more moments before the light of the day would grace the world around.

It was also right at this very moment when Loraz's aura exploded.

The divine's aura twitched and then suddenly expanded. Formerly, standing close to the man simply gave me a weird feeling of his presence. Right now though, his looks expanded into tens, hundreds of times his original size.

The world around blanked out, consumed by the dark sensation that came with an intense, physical pressure.

In an instant, my body nearly caved in, succumbing to the terrifying force. It wasn't a domain like Fay's… but sheer, unadulterated might of the echo of her father's soul.

The world jumped from one that neared the sunrise to a dark abyss with the overbearing presence of the man as his fist shot for the side of my head.

And his strike fell right as the first ray of the sun fell on the face of the plain, forest, and the camp.

My soul twitched.

For the first time, I got this sensation. Was it because I usually slept through this moment? Or maybe, I wasn't attuned enough before?

Either way, I had no need for a guide to figure out this sensation. It felt like… forcing out a cough to clear the annoying itch in one's throat.

And with no better idea for how to salvage the situation, I trusted my instincts and sent forth two short, mental commands.

The world around me slowed down. The effects of two of my skills combined. And right as my brain reached new heights of its processing speed with the use of my Eye of time, the time itself slowed down, even further expanding my window to escape.

Yet, with both skills activating at the same time, I could afford just a few moments to improve my chances.

And as it turned out, as long as I didn't try to move… the pain of my wounds opening up for the blood tribute was so slow, it amounted to a mere, annoying itch.

'First, I doubt he will target Fay… but I can't rule this possibility out.'

Instead of rushing head-on to action, I decided to take my time to plan things out.

Loraz's fist froze in place. As swift as it was, it couldn't break past the barrier of a stopped time. By now, only two small nicks appeared on my skin with hardly a drop of blood seeping out.

'I need to get Fay to safety. And somehow, fight this guy off…'

Two more nicks appeared. Even though all I did was think, I could feel the process of the tribute accelerating. I still had some time, but it was quickly running out.

'Well, either way, this build should do.'

Before my mental command reached my system, I already braved through the thick slurry of air to shove Fay away. And in the process of doing so…

[Agility: 9] > [Agility: 19]

[Wisdom: 10] > [Wisdom: 20]

[Intelligence: 13] > [Intelligence: 20]

[Endurance: 14] > [Endurance: 20]

[Usable points: 33] > [Usable points: 0]

There was no doubt in my heart when I picked this specific order of distributing my points. And while it was a pity I lacked just eleven more points to reach the threshold of my next evolution…

It was still better than overcoming the ordeal of evolution while under the assault of the strongest divine protector around!

Still, feeling the free power of the world surge and assimilate into me to now directly reflect the might of my new attributes…

I couldn't help but grin.

As much as I didn't want to put myself in danger…

'I saw too much not to get interested in all this aura…'

Aura.

The one point that everything and everyone in both worlds appeared to be connected by. The dark aura on people on earth. The skills that converged my aura to bring forth an effect. Even this foreign core that allowed me to manipulate aura into half-solid shapes of elemental darkness…

In a situation where I understood pretty little about the true laws of the world around me, this aura continued to persistently remain at the center of everything.

And if I could be perfectly sure of anything in this new, strange life of mine… then it was my gamer's instinct screaming to exploit this extremely important aspect of the world.

'I saw how insane it is,' I thought, taking a breath to gain just a little bit more strength to endure the strain of my skills. Yet, with the reinforcement of my endurance reaching its current limit…

The pain grew considerably more bearable, even when I compressed my chest to breathe out.

Still, as my newfound power properly settled both in my bones and in my mental perception of its reach, I moved my body harder, changing its entire position to get out of the path of Loraz's strike.

Yet, before I could do so, the exponentially growing burden of Blood Tribute finally started to get to me.

'Come on, just a little longer!' I screamed out from the very bottom of my soul.

Loraz's fist would snuff out whatever endurance I had. There was no doubt about this point.

As strong as I became, this man's power clearly outclassed me by several leagues.

And with the cost of upholding my spell quickly growing unbearable if not lethal… I had yet to escape from the path of Fay's father's fist.

'Shit!'

Unable to hold the spell any longer, especially not when I was still tightly connected to Fay through our bond…

I released the blood tribute while rushing all my aura to just a single task.

My aura.

The only attribute that continued to grow on its own, along with my level. And now, it greatly exceeded all my other stats, growing to a number around thrice as big as all my other attributes combined.

[Aura: 138]

The one attribute that is so closely related to the core of all the mysteries of this world. And the mastery of which gave Loraz an immense advantage over me.

Still, daring not to grow arrogant, I focused all of my newfound strength on a single task.

Of infusing as much of my aura into the surging pillar of darkness that grew out of nowhere, blocking the path of Fay's father's first.

The spell collapsed.

Loraz's fist struck through my darkness…

No, it only went through three-fourths of the barrier's depth… But the blunt force of the strike still echoed right down the edge of my chin.

I continued to lean back, already restoring the solidified darkness while moving on with my strategy for the moment. The attack… was shockingly strong. It was hard for me to gather my thoughts, not to speak about wresting control of the situation from the divine's hands.

"You fought well," Loraz suddenly spoke, taken slightly aback by my swift reaction.

"WHA…?!" Fay's tired face tensed up mid-drop, only for the sparks to flash in her eyes again.

'Shit, she's too tired!'

I saw with my own eyes just how much aura she expended. And even though she restored some of it…

'STOP!'

Infusing my wish with all of my focus and attention, I lowered my guard for but a fraction of a second.

And that was enough for Loraz to jump forth, bringing another strike. His fist bearing down on my face was too quick for me to react.

So, having no other choice, I gritted my teeth…

And willingly opened up a fresh batch of ugly wounds all over my skin.