Apocalypse with my SSS Harem Beauties-Chapter 126: Guardian

After some more morning preparation, the companions gathered inside the ruined house once again. Myles and Lilian had already returned before the others fully woke, and now everyone stood on their feet.

Something felt different.

Despite sleeping on a hard and cracked floor without blankets or comfort, their bodies felt lighter. Their muscles responded faster.

The lingering soreness from training had faded. Even the bruises from yesterday felt dull and distant. Victor also felt much better.

No one complained about hunger either. Instead, a strange fullness settled inside their cores.

It was not the fullness of food, but something else that felt denser in their internal part.

Victor flexed his fingers around the handle of his cleaver and frowned slightly. He said. "Why do I feel... stronger so suddenly?"

"My fatigue is gone," Clara said while rolling her shoulders a few times.

Kade narrowed his eyes and then said loudly. "Check your status."

Almost at the same time, faint translucent windows appeared before their eyes.

Red panels hovered quietly in the air and they stared at it intently.

They realized that their stats had risen without them leveling up and adding stat points.

No system announcement either. Just quiet increases.

Daniel blinked. "Wait... I didn’t level up."

George checked again, carefully. "Neither did I."

Ethan’s brows furrowed. "Then why are our stats rising?"

Samantha scanned her window twice, just to be certain. "It’s real. They’re all up by a few points."

Myles stood near the center of the room, observing his own panel. His numbers had also shifted slightly upward and he already knew it. Not dramatically. Just enough to feel the difference in his body.

He turned his head toward Lilian.

"This has something to do with our training, right?"

Lilian leaned casually against the cracked wall, arms crossed beneath her chest. Her expression remained calm.

"Yes," she said. "Your bodies are adapting."

They all looked at her.

"You’re no longer relying purely on system-structured power," she continued. "You’re beginning to absorb and circulate real Ether and refine your cores naturally."

She tapped lightly against her bulging chest.

"The more you understand your core, the more your body adjusts. The system doesn’t need to announce everything with a level now."

Victor glanced back at his window, then slowly closed it. "So this is... real power?"

"Yes," Lilian replied. "This isn’t artificial scaling. This is adaptation of the real power that had touched this world forcefully."

Silence filled the room for a moment. They all feel more confidence now. Their strength was no longer tied only to experience points. It was tied to understanding. When they level up, they would be getting more stat points and when they refining their cores again they would be getting more stat added.

So basically, they would become stronger than they should have with this understanding and training provided by Lilian.

When the morning light grew brighter and poured through the broken windows, they stepped outside together.

They gathered in front of the ruined house with their weapons ready.

Cleaver. Spears. Daggers. Gauntlets. Pistols. Bow.

Myles stood with them.

Just like Lilian had said. Today, they would move forward to the higher zone.

Myles looked at his companions with a firm and steady expression. The morning light reflected in his eyes, sharp and unwavering.

"Are you all ready?" he asked.

One by one, they nodded.

They adjusted their grip on their weapons subconsciously and nodded without hesitation in their expression. They gave him the same silent confirmation.

Myles scanned their faces. No fear, doubt in their faces. Only determination made by the will for survival.

"Good," he said. "We can’t waste time. You all know what happens when you’re weak."

The memory of the monster’s battle, Nadine’s death and Ryan’s betrayal lingered between them.

"We can’t afford that again," Myles continued. "We need to grow stronger faster."

No one disagreed.

He turned and walked toward the direction Lilian had shown them briefly. The group followed closely behind, weapons secured and senses alert.

Lilian walked beside them.

She did not keep distance anymore. Her black wings folded neatly behind her back as she moved with calm elegance.

She would not leave Myles again.

Even so, she restrained herself. This world placed a limit on how much power she could release. If she forced too much Ether into the air, the backlash would disrupt the balance violently.

But even restrained, she remained far stronger than any monster in this zone.

After several minutes, they arrived at the intersection they had seen before.

Four broken roads met at the center. Cracked asphalt spread everywhere like a web.

And there it stood. The massive pulsing purple-and-black rock that once blocked their path.

It towered over them, fused with condensed Ether and mineral-like flesh. Its surface looked rough and uneven, as if grown rather than placed. Dark veins pulsed faintly beneath the outer layer.

But now, thin cracks spread across it. Faint purple light leaked from within. The air around it felt strange and heavy.

"This is the guardian of the higher zone," Lilian said calmly. "You must defeat it to proceed."

The companions stared at the structure. They had expected this.

Before anyone moved, Lilian stepped forward.

Without warning, she raised her fist and slammed it into the rock.

The impact thundered across the intersection.

A deep shockwave rippled outward. Dust exploded from the surface. The ground trembled beneath their feet.

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then a sharp fracture split across the point of impact.

Another crack followed. Then another. Purple light burst through the widening lines as if something inside was pushing outward.

The entire rock began to vibrate.

Fragments fell from the surface and shattered against the asphalt.

The companions immediately took combat positions.

Victor lowered his stance. Clara moved to the side. Kade shifted slightly forward. Samantha raised her bow. George and Daniel flanked the left and right. Ethan steadied his breathing and aimed his pistols.

Myles stepped to the front, eyes locked on the guardian.

The cracks spread faster and branching like lightning across the massive surface. The rumbling deepened into a growl that echoed from within the stone.

Something inside was waking up. The purple light flared violently.

Chunks of blackened rock fell away, revealing something darker beneath.

The guardian was emerging.

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